True Potential
by DryBonesKing
Summary: One discussion in the academy introduces Naruto to his first real friends and changes his life forever. Together, they will work hard, push each other, and unlock their true potential. NaruHina
1. Prologue: A Legend is Born

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

On a normal day, Uzumaki Naruto would not be paying attention to any of the lectures in the Academy. Lectures were often boring and he had better things to do with his time. He would rather use the time designing new pranks to practice on the village or, if he was tired enough, to sleep.

Today, however, was not a normal day. The subject of Umino Iruka's lecture was one of the few things that Naruto was genuinely interested in. They were discussing the former Hokage and the duties of the Hokage. The blonde-haired student paid attention as closely as he could.

"Now, who here can tell me the names of all the Hokage?" Iruka asked the class.

"Heh, that's easy Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto stated quickly before Iruka could call on someone. "The Shodai Hokage was Hashirama Senju and his brother, Senju Tobirama, was the Nidaime. The old man is the Sandaime and the Yondaime was Namikaze Minato."

"Naruto, you're supposed to wait until I call on you to answer a question!" Iruka scolded the boy. Despite the scolding, the chunin had a proud smile on his face. "However, you are correct. Although you should give Sandaime-Sama the proper respect he deserves, you are right."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, a grin on his face.

'_I may not get good grades, but if there's one subject I know, it's the Hokage! I have to know about my predecessors after all!'_ Naruto chuckled. He was about to daydream about his future life as Hokage before he stopped himself. He had to pay attention to the rest of the class to see if there is anything else he can learn about the position.

Unfortunately for Naruto, Iruka's lecture didn't contain any new information. He spent most of the time discussing the skills of each of the Hokage and the role each of them played in Konoha's history. No new information for the blue-eyed kid. Still, Naruto paid attention to class and Iruka. Although he may know most things about the Hokage, he still enjoyed hearing everything about them. They, especially the Yondaime, were his idols and he wanted to learn everything he could about them.

"Iruka-Sensei?" A short, brown-haired boy with glasses called to his teacher when he stopped his lecture.

"Yes Ken?" Iruka replied.

"I'm just curious…but do you think any of us stand a chance of becoming Hokage?" Ken asked excitedly. "It would be really cool to say that I graduated from the same class as the Hokage!"

Iruka took the chance to look at all of the students in the room, examining each of them for a second. He then gave a smile as he turned back to Ken.

"There is a lot of potential in this year's class. You are all good students and I've seen some remarkable skills in all of you! If you all keep up with your determination and improve on the skills you all have, I could see any of you becoming the Hokage!" Iruka told his students proudly, his smile still present on his face.

Most of the students in the room looked at their sensei and smiled back, gratefully taking the compliment. Naruto had a large smirk on his face.

"Don't worry Iruka-Sensei." The blonde spoke confidently. "I intend on getting better each and every day. You'll be seeing me as the Hokage in no time dattebayo!"

A few scoffs were heard after Naruto finished his statement.

"Yeah right Naruto! As if a baka like you could become Hokage!" Haruno Sakura dismissed Naruto's claims.

"She's right! If anyone here is going to be Hokage, it's going to be Sasuke-Kun!" Yamanaka Ino added before turning her attention away from Naruto. "Isn't that right Sasuke-Kun?"

The last Uchiha gave no response to the blonde-haired girl. Like any normal day, Uchiha Sasuke seemed to be deep in thought, not caring about what's going on in the class around him.

"What's so great about him? He's nothing too special!" Naruto mumbled, annoyed that his classmate was getting so much praise for no real reason.

This comment sparked an outrage from the self-proclaimed 'Sasuke' fan club. Nearly every girl in the class was now glaring at Naruto with killing intent.

"He's more special than you ever will be!" One of the girls shouted.

Naruto sighed, deciding not to say anything back. He knew he had no support in the room and decided to keep his mouth shut, hoping that would shut up some of the girls in his class. Alas, he had already irritated the 'fangirls' enough. The room continued to get louder, with each girl vocalizing their opinions on Naruto and their support of Sasuke for Hokage. The increase in noise woke up Nara Shikamaru, who tried to drown out the noise to fall back asleep.

"You should seriously stop trying Naruto. Sasuke will be Hokage in no time and he will be the greatest Hokage this village has ever had!" Ino informed everyone in the class proudly.

Naruto's irritation continued to rise with each comment. There was a limit on how many insults he could take. He was about to finally respond and snap until someone else started to speak.

"How troublesome. Can you people just admit that Naruto can become the Hokage already so I can go back to sleep?" Shikamaru groaned lazily, still trying to fall back to sleep.

The classroom became quiet. All of the students turned their attention to the lazy Nara. Even Naruto looked at the boy with shock in his eyes. He honestly hadn't expected to get any support from one his classmates.

"You can't be serious Shikamaru!" Ino shouted, rolling her eyes in disbelief. "You seriously think that the baka can become the Hokage?"

"Why not?" The boy groaned in reply.

'_What? Does he really mean it…does he think I can become Hokage?"_ Naruto asked himself, taken aback by Shikamaru's words.

"Why not? Really?" One of the boys sitting next to Shikamaru laughed. "He's the dobe! He's nowhere near strong enough to become Hokage too!"

The Nara heir shook his head in annoyance. All of the noise meant he was never going to get back to sleep.

'_Might as well argue back I guess…the sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can go back to sleep.'_ He inwardly grumbled before turning his attention to the boy sitting next to him.

"Of course he's not strong enough to be Hokage right now. None of us are. We're just academy students. Wait until we are shinobi and he gets the chance to truly train and get stronger. He'll probably surprise you." Shikamaru mumbled with a yawn. "I can see it."

"You see him being Hokage? The dead last idiot? Over more competent ninjas like Sasuke?" One of the Uchiha fan girls yelled at her classmate.

"I do. He clearly wants the position and is actually going to work for it. He has dedication and he won't give up until he reaches his goal. If you can't see his dedication, then you're just being troublesome." The Nara replied. "Besides, he'd probably do a good job as Hokage in the future."

The girl seemed as if she was going to reply to Shikamaru's statement. However, she was cut off as another person started to speak.

"Um…I-I agree w-with S-Shikamaru-San."

Everyone turned their heads to the back of the room, staring at Hyuga Hinata. The indigo-haired girl started messing with her fingers, looking uncomfortable with all of the attention that was on her. Still, she felt empowered to speak. She saw Shikamaru defend her crush and his dream. Hinata felt courage growing within herself to do the same.

"I-I think t-that S-Shikamaru-San is r-right. N-Naruto-Kun has the d-dedication to become a g-great Hokage." She stuttered quietly.

'_Hinata? She thinks so too?'_ Naruto looked at the girl, even more shocked. Another one of his classmates thought he actually could become Hokage as well?

Before any of the students could reply to the quiet girl, Iruka coughed and grabbed everyone's attention.

"That's enough for that discussion. There are more things we have to discuss today besides who we think can become Hokage!" Iruka informed the class sharply before returning back to his lecture.

Naruto stopped paying attention to class, focusing on his thoughts. His mind kept repeating Shikamaru's and Hinata's words of support. Their claims that he could become Hokage. Naruto had never met anyone his age who actually believed him. The blonde spent the rest of the class thinking back to his two fellow classmates, wondering what they truly thought about him and his dream.

* * *

"Class dismissed! See you guys tomorrow!" Iruka informed all of the students.

Nearly all of the students in the room got out of their seats quickly and started rushing out of the classroom. Naruto got up from his seat slowly and looked around for his two classmates who defended him and his dream.

"Oi, Shikamaru! Hinata" Naruto called out to them.

Shikamaru, who was taking a nap, groaned at being awakened before turning to Naruto. He got out of his seat and walked up to him, giving him his attention.

Hinata froze at the sound of Naruto's voice and turned to face him nervously. '_Naruto-Kun wants to talk to me?'_ She walked slowly over to where her crush and Shikamaru were, a blush forming on her face.

"I…I just wanted to ask you guys. Back in class today…did you both mean it when you said that I could become Hokage?" Naruto asked, still not fully believing that anyone would actually think he could become Hokage. He felt he had to prove himself to everyone. He didn't believe that anyone actually believed in him already.

"Y-Yes. I did…" Hinata mumbled quietly, poking her index fingers together. "I…I-I think you w-will be a g-great Hokage in the f-future N-Naruto-Kun."

"I think so as well. If I thought otherwise, I wouldn't have said anything. It'd be too troublesome to lie about something like that." Shikamaru said with a yawn.

Naruto stared at his fellow classmates for a few seconds before he gave them a large smile. It was different than the grin he normally wore on a daily basis. This smile was more genuine, more happy.

"You guys are the first two to believe in me like that and I promise you both that you will not regret it!" Naruto proclaimed to them, his smile not getting any smaller. "Thank you both!"

"Y-You're welcome." Hinata replied even quieter, her blush getting a little redder in color.

"Just saying the truth. Nothing else to it." Shikamaru replied, a smirk on his face. "It's no problem at all."

Naruto continued to stare at his fellow classmates who defended him in class until an idea came into his head.

"You two aren't busy right now, right?" He asked them.

"Hmm? I was planning on getting some sleep. Maybe go cloud watching. But I guess I'm not really busy." Shikamaru told him, trying to see the point in Naruto's question.

"I h-have to be h-home in a-about t-two h-hours for t-training with my clan b-but I'm f-free right n-now." Hinata told him, pushing her index fingers together again.

Naruto didn't really hear too much into what the two said. All that registered in his head was that the two were free at the moment. He gave them a foxy grin.

"Since you guys are free, I'm taking you both to get ramen at the greatest place in Konoha, Ichirakus! Consider it a treat from your future Hokage!" The boy told them.

Before his words could register, Naruto grabbed their hands and started to rush out of the room.

"H-Hey! Slow down! I didn't agree to this!" Shikamaru grumbled as he continued to get dragged by the boy. _'There goes my relaxing afternoon of sleep. What a drag...'_

_'Naruto-Kun's holding my hand! Naruto-Kun's taking me to get ramen with him!'_ Hinata shouted in her head, unaware of anything else in the world.

It took only a few more seconds before the Hyuga heiress lost her grip on Naruto's hand and fell to the ground in unconsciousness.

"Hinata!"

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled to himself as he stared into his crystal ball. His crystal ball reflected an image of Naruto sitting at his favorite Ramen stand, Ichirakus, with two kids from his class in the academy. The Sandaime recognized both of them as Hyuga Hinata and Nara Shikamaru, the heiress and heir of their respective clans.

The aged Hokage often checked up on Naruto in his crystal glass to make sure he was doing okay and that nothing bad was happening to him. Seeing the blonde boy sitting with two kids his own age having fun and laughing made him feel a great joy in his heart.

"Naruto, it's great to see you have friends your own age now. It's good to see people accepting you." Sarutobi mumbled to himself, pleased.

Seeing that Naruto was okay, Sarutobi deactivated his jutsu and the crystal ball stopped reflecting the image of the academy students. Even with the image gone from the ball, the Sandaime couldn't help but see it in his head.

_'Those three...I have a feeling they will become something big. Something the shinobi world will remember.'_ Sarutobi thought to himself.

Every legend always has a beginning. Sarutobi Hiruzen just witnessed the beginning of a new legend: a legend of three ninja who would work together to help each other grow and reach their true potential.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my story. I have a lot of plans in store for this story. You shall all see very soon what I have planned! Let me know you guys think of the chapter and the premise of the story. Any criticism and comments will be taken and will only help better the story! :) The next update will be coming soon, hopefully by the end of the week. Until then, though! See ya! :)


	2. Friends, Family, and Training

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own Naruto, sadly. There's so much potential with the whole world...oh I would kill to own Naruto...

* * *

For the first time in months, Naruto was actually looking forward to class in the academy. He was so excited for it that he was actually making a conscious effort to show up on time today! The boy was excited to go to class today and see his new friends!

_'Friends. We are friends now, right?'_ Naruto thought back to yesterday, remembering Hinata and Shikamaru defending his dream. He remembered confronting them after class and realizing they were telling the truth. He remembered inviting them to Ichirakus after class and eating ramen and talking with them. Naruto thought back to yesterday and all of the events with a smile on his face.

_'Yep. I think we are all friends now!'_ The Jinchuuriki seemed ecstatic at this thought. He seemed pleased with having two friends his age.

When Naruto arrived at the academy, he immediately began looking for them. Shikamaru had yet to show up to class. Hinata, however, was already there, sitting in the back of the room like she was yesterday. The blond haired academy student was excited to see her and walked up to her.

"Hey! Hinata!" He called out to her. The girl gasped at the sound of his voice and turned to face him.

"H-Hello Naruto-Kun!" She greeted, a blush developing on her face just at the sight of her crush. "Y-You're here e-earlier t-than usual. You u-usually s-show up l-later."

"Eh, just felt like showing up early today." Naruto shrugged. "Mind if I sit next to you?"

"I-I don't m-mind." Hinata mumbled in reply with a blush. _'Naruto-Kun wants to sit next to me? To ME!'_

Naruto gave her a smile in response as he took the seat next to her.

"...N-Naruto-Kun?" The Hyuga heiress spoke quietly. "T-Thank you again f-for the r-ramen yesterday."

The blonde boy's smile developed into his usual grin. "No problem at all! I had a lot of fun with you guys yesterday!"

Hinata nodded in response, a smile of her own on her face. She had a great time at the ramen stand with Naruto and Shikamaru. The ramen tasted really good and she enjoyed talking and spending time with her two classmates. The two were really nice and great to talk to. '_Especially Naruto-Kun'_ She enjoyed the opportunity to get to spend more time and get to know her crush better...

Hinata had a great time yesterday indeed.

"You know, we should head over to Ichirakus again sometime!" Naruto voiced his thoughts.

His female classmate nodded in response. "It w-would be a l-lot of fun. W-We should!"

"I'll go find out later if Shikamaru can or not go sometime soon! But even if he can't anytime soon, we should just head out!" The boy told her with a small laugh.

Hinata's thoughts shut down as the mental image of her and Naruto at the ramen stand by themselves filled her head.

_'Naruto-Kun and I eating ramen together? Alone? No Shikamaru? Like...like a date?'_ The girl replayed the mental image in her head multiple times as the blush on her face darkened to an even brighter color of red.

"Hmm?" Naruto noticed the blush and looked closer at Hinata's face. "You're getting really red Hinata. Redder than usual. Are you feeling sick or something?"

The blonde put his hand on the girl's head to check for a temperature. This, along with the close proximity to her crush and the thoughts currently running through her head, proved too much for the girl. Hinata fell into unconsciousness right then and there, her head hitting her desk hard.

"Hinata!" Naruto called out to her, getting out of his seat and getting closer to her, trying to see if she was okay.

It was at this moment that Shikamaru arrived in the classroom. He heard Naruto's voice calling out to Hinata and turned his face over to the source of the noise. He sighed at the sight.

"Naruto, you are really troublesome. If she wakes up and sees you that close to her, she will just pass out again." The Nara pointed out as he walked over to them.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked sharply, his eyes narrowed.

"Eh...don't feel like explaining. Just don't worry about her; she'll wake up soon." He replied with a yawn before he took a seat in the desk in front of the one with Naruto and Hinata.

Naruto, although still worried at his friend's unconsciousness, seemed to accept Shikamaru's words. He got up and sat down in his seat before conversing with his other friend.

By the time Hinata woke up, class had already began. Mizuki was in the middle of a lecture on genjutsu. She took a small look at Naruto, who was sitting next to her. He noticed her awake and staring and gave her a grin in response. The girl blushed in response before turning back to her sensei, trying to catch up on everything she had missed in her unconsciousness.

* * *

"Alright class, head on outside. Sayuri-Sensei will be working with you guys in your weapon training today!" Mizuki informed his class.

The students at the academy all nodded at their teacher's words before getting up and starting to walk out. Naruto and Hinata got up relatively quickly and waited for Shikamaru, who was taking as long as he could to get outside.

"Shikamaru, you are way too slow! Hurry up already!" Naruto hollered his classmate, who hadn't even reached the door to the academy's outside. Naruto's shouting seemed to have caused Shikamaru to walk even slower.

"Why? Weapons training is always the same as it is everyday. It's too much work and way too troublesome." The Nara heir grumbled.

"Everything's too troublesome for you!" Naruto rolled his eyes at his friend's complaining.

"Exactly." He replied simply with a yawn.

"S-Shikamaru-Kun, you r-really should h-hurry. We w-wouldn't w-want to get S-Sayuri-Sensei m-mad." Hinata told him.

The Nara boy mumbled something under his breath before he sped up his pace and caught up to his two classmates. They then walked outside together and saw that the other classmates had already surrounded their teacher.

Sayuri was a blonde-haired, brown-eyed chunin and was in charge of teaching the academy students on the usage of weapons, such as the shuriken and kunai. She was a teacher who enjoyed showing the students of the academy the ropes of the shinobi world. She truly loved working with all of the kids in the academy...with one exception...

"Uzumaki!" The weapons instructor yelled at her fellow blonde. "Stop stalling Shikamaru and Hinata and get over here for the lesson! I don't care if you don't take your classes seriously, you shouldn't be holding back your classmates!"

Naruto sighed. He was used to this treatment from Sayuri. It's the way he was treated by pretty much every teacher at the academy, with the exception of Iruka and sometimes Mizuki. The blonde just accepted it and started to walk off to the lesson, getting ahead of his two new friends. Hinata looked at her crush with concern on her face, wondering why Naruto got yelled. She and Naruto chose to wait back for Shikamaru; he wasn't stalling her. She was confused and upset at the display. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the treatment of his fellow classmate, considering it was fairly obvious that he was the one 'stalling'.

"He wasn't the one stalling us. That was my fault. I ended up taking my time to get to this troublesome lesson and he just waited for me. So my bad." Shikamaru informed his sensei. He knew that the yelling he would get from his sensei would be 'troublesome' but he didn't want Naruto to get in trouble for something he didn't do and for something trivial as that.

Sayuri turned her attention to the Nara heir then back to the Jinchuuriki. She had a troubled look on her face.

"Oh? Well...don't do it again. You should take your studies more seriously Shikamaru! What would your mother say?" Sayuri informed him in a scolding tone of voice.

The boy's eyebrow rose higher at that. Naruto got yelled at while he got a mild scolding for the same reason? Shikamaru shook his head at this. This treatment wasn't uncommon for Naruto, but seeing it still bothered Shikamaru. He had a pretty strong moral code and seeing his friend treated badly for no reason bothered him.

"...troublesome." He mumbled his thoughts. One day, he would find out the cause of Naruto's treatment by others. He just needed more leads to actually find out why.

Sayuri began her lessons for the day, showing the students the proper technique on using shuriken. Every few minutes or so, though, she couldn't help herself and stare at the Jinchuuriki. He was currently standing next to Hinata and Shikamaru. He was joking around with them about something, which caused her to narrow her eyes every time she turned to them.

_"So, Yoshino's son is befriending the Kyubi kid?"_ Sayuri noted with a frown on her face. _"When classes are over, I should probably head over to visit her. Give her a warning that her son is getting too close to that demon..."_

* * *

When classes finally ended, Shikamaru said goodbye to Naruto and Hinata before heading home to the Nara compound. The Nara heir greeted his parents before he headed to a spot he usually went to after school. He laid down by a tall tree near the entrance of the compound. He relaxed in the shade while he watched the clouds.

The Nara heir couldn't help but smile. The boy felt truly at peace when he was watching the clouds. He sometimes felt jealous of clouds and their free, relaxing nature.

The lazy Nara continued to stare at the clouds for hours. He never noticed time passing by until he was approached by a member of his clan.

"Shikamaru-San, your mother has called for you for dinner." The Nara informed the heir.

"...great." Shikamaru grumbled as he got up. He gave a bow to his clansmen before walking off into the compound and heading towards his family's dining room.

Shikamaru was greeted again by his parents, who were already sitting down at the dinner table. He sat down at his seat and started to join his parents in dinner. The Nara heir kept to himself and remained quiet as his parents discussed something. _'Probably one of dad's troublesome habits that mom is trying to fix.'_

As the young genius predicted, Nara Yoshino was currently complaining to her husband that he spent too much time with his old teammates and friends instead of with her and their clan.

Eventually, Yoshino took a break from yelling at her husband and turned to Shikamaru, who seemed almost finished with his food. Her mind remembered some news that she was informed of not too long before she finished dinner. Her old friend from her time at the academy, Sayuri, came to inform her that Shikamaru was becoming close to the 'demon brat'. The academy teacher warned her old friend to deal with the issue before Shikamaru ends up hurting himself by getting too close to him.

The Nara woman merely shrugged at the warning. She never saw Uzumaki Naruto as a demon, but rather, an annoying troublemaker. She didn't really care that Shikamaru was becoming close to him. What she _did _care about, however, was that her son was making more friends at the academy and not informing his mother about it!

"So, Shikamaru, I had a talk with one of your senseis, and I hear you got yourself a new friend." Yoshino confronted her son about what Sayuri told her, hoping to get some information out of him.

Shikamaru looked up from his plate to his mother and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I guess you could call them friends, but what about them?" He asked, trying to see where she was going with this.

"Wait, _friends_?" His mother asked, questioningly. Sayuri only informed her of his newfound closeness to a certain Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. She never mentioned anything else. Her curiosity and her irritation at her son for not informing her of them reached a whole new level. "Who are they?

The Nara heir's eyebrow rose even higher. _She's the one who asked about them. She should know then. Troublesome…_ "Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Hinata."

_'Naruto and the Hyuga heiress? Interesting choices Shikamaru...'_ Shikaku thought to himself as he drank from a bottle of sake, remaining quiet as he listened to his son and wife converse.

"And why am I just hearing about these two? Am I not important enough to hear about your friends and social life?" Yoshino questioned her son.

_'...so troublesome...'_ Shikamaru rolled his eyes in annoyance before he spoke. "I really just became friends with them yesterday. And you never asked."

"Well I'm asking now!" His mother retorted. "What are they like? You like them? And I hope just because you met some new people that you aren't going to stop being friends with Chouji-Kun! You haven't talked about him much either!"

"...troublesome...they are okay." Shikamaru mumbled, not really wanting to talk about this. "They can be pains sometimes in their own ways, since Naruto is loud and Hinata is too quiet, but they aren't too troublesome. And of course I'm still friends with Chouji! But it's not like I'll be talking about him for awhile. His whole family is off to Taki to celebrate his cousin's marriage to a ninja from there. You should remember that."

"Are you you insinuating something about my memory?" His mother shouted.

The conversation evolved into an argument between Shikamaru and his mother about her memory. Shikaku couldn't help but laugh as he watched and drank more sake. He always enjoyed watching Yoshino argue with someone other than himself. It was amusing at times...

Eventually the argument dissolved. Yoshino eventually calmed down and remembered that she and Shikamaru were discussing his new friends. She remembered why she even brought up his friendship with Naruto in the first place.

"You know, Shikamaru, I'd like to meet your new friends. You should invite them over!" She declared.

Her son scoffed at her words. "And do what here? And why do you want to meet them?"

"Why shouldn't I? I'm your mother! I need to be involved in my son's life! I should be able to meet his friends!" The Nara mother huffed at her son's words. "And what will you do? Why, how about you all train here! Shikaku-Kun would be willing to train you guys!"

The Nara clan head, upon hearing his wife's words, immediately chocked on his sake. When he stopped coughing and regained his composure, he turned his attention to his wife and entered the conversation.

"I would? And what if I were to say I already had plans for tomorrow?" He asked her.

"Well, I'm certain whatever you were planning is not nearly as important as training your son and his friends, right? I mean, he is YOUR son after all! He should take priority over everything else, _especially_ your old teammates! Don't you agree Shikaku-Kun?" Yoshino asked sweetly in a way that dared her husband to oppose her request.

Nara Shikaku, among his fellow shinobi, was considered a beyond brilliant man. He was an excellent shinobi who could easily fight and outwit nearly any enemy ninja that dared to take him on. His wife, however, was someone his brilliance could never beat. The Nara clan head sighed, knowing full well what he was going to have to say and do.

"I agree. I'll train Shikamaru and his friends tomorrow." He sighed.

"I'm glad! I'm sure it'll go really well!" Yoshino cheered.

_'He has no say in anything at all.' _Shikamaru rolled his eyes at his father's 'defeat' by his mother.

The Nara clan head's wife then turned her attention back to her son, a smirk on her face. "Then it's settled! You'll invite your new friends over tomorrow for training. Shikaku will help train them with you and we can see if they want to stay for dinner! Understood?"

_'Then again, I'm no better than him with her...'_ Shikamaru cursed under his breath before he gave his mother a nod, letting her know he would go along with her plans.

Nara Yoshino seemed pleased with her work. She was excited to get to meet more of her son's friends at school. She was also quite curious with Uzumaki Naruto. She knew Sayuri, when she told her about his friendship with Shikamaru, was not fond of the boy at all. The Nara woman was interested in the boy and wanted to see if he really was as bad as her friend, and most of Konoha, say about the boy.

Nara Shikaku, unlike his wife, was dreading the next day. He had no qualms with training Shikamaru, since he had already started training Shikamaru. He also had no problems with working with Naruto or Hinata either. However...

_'I'm going to have to cancel my plans with Inoichi. And he's going to bitch about it for awhile probably, especially cause Chouza isn't here to go with him. Troublesome...'_The Nara clan head groaned, not looking forward to dealing with his former teammate tomorrow and having to cancel their plans.

* * *

When morning came and classes began at the academy, Shikamaru looked for his friends. He found them in the same seats they were in yesterday. Hinata was not passed out today, however.

_'That's a relief. Means I don't have to ask this twice.'_ He noted to himself as he started to walk to his seat behind them.

"Hey, Naruto. Hinata." Shikamaru called out to his new friends.

"What's up?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"...okay, I know this is last minute and stuff, but my mom invited you both to come over to my clan's compound for some training after class. You don't have to come if you don't want, but I'm just letting you guys know." Shikamaru told them with a sigh. He felt awkward asking his two classmates this. Still, he had to, otherwise he'd face the wrath of his mother...

Naruto and Hinata stared at the Nara heir for a second, processing his words. Naruto was the first person to speak up.

"What kind of training? And what time?" He asked. The blond-haired academy student seemed really excited and curious about the whole event.

"I don't know. My dad's going to oversee the training but he never said what he was going to work on. As for what time...well, probably right after classes." Shikamaru told him with a yawn.

"I see. Well, you can count me in dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, a large grin on his face. "How could I pass up an opportunity to train more? Besides, sounds pretty awesome to me! I can definitely come!"

The Nara heir gave the blonde a smirk back before he turned his attention to the Hyuga heiress standing right by him. The girl was looking down on the ground, poking her index fingers together.

"Um...I'd l-love to c-come, b-but I usually t-train with m-my f-father and my c-clain after class. I-I'll have to a-ask him if I can s-skip today." Hinata said quietly.

Naruto and Shikamaru nodded in understanding.

"How about we all meet up in front of my clan's compound house in two hours after classes end?" Shikamaru suggested to them both. He then turned his head directly at Hinata. "If you don't show we will just assume your father said no."

"O-Okay." The Hyuga heiress replied.

"Fine with me. Hope you can come as well Hinata!" Naruto told her, which caused her to blush. "I'm really excited for this training! I can't wait to see what your dad has planned for us!"

The rest of the day in the academy continued as normal. Shikamaru slept through most of Iruka's lectures, Naruto barely paid attention to his teacher's words, while Hinata continued to listen attentively. When classes ended, Hinata told her friends farewell before she hurried off to her clan's compound, hoping to convince her father to let her attend the training session with her friends.

* * *

Hyuga Hiashi said at a desk in his study, reading reports on incidents occurring within his clan. As the clan head, Hiashi had many responsibilities and duties he needed to perform. As such, he needed to keep up to date on everything going on within the clan to prevent any problems for the clan as a whole. Currently, the only issue going on was a father in the branch clan was refusing to allow his son be marked with the caged bird seal. The issue would have to be dealt with soon, if the father continued his protests...

Hiashi sighed as he read further into the report. Being the clan head was never easy. He had a lot of duties he had to practice, even ones he didn't seem to enjoy. Still, he had his duties to the clan that he had perform. He would not allow problems to arise within his clan...

The Hyuga clan head was about to finish his report when he heard the doors of his study open. He looked up for a second from his work to see his eldest daughter enter the room.

"Father." Hinata greeted her father with a bow.

"Hinata." Her father greeted in response with a formal, distanced tone. "Is there something you want to discuss?"

"F-Father…" She started, trying to get out the request she wanted to ask her father. "I…I was a-asked about…um…"

"Hinata, we have talked about this before. Please, work on your stuttering. It is unbecoming for a Hyuga of the main house." Hiashi told her daughter in a way that sounded like a command.

The Hyuga heiress looked down in discomfort, away from her father. She took a deep breath, working up some resolve before speaking again.

"I…I was invited to attend a training session w-with the Nara clan. I r-request permission to a-accept the invitation." Hinata told her father as confidently as possible. Her voice was little more than a whisper but she managed to get out her words with minimal stuttering.

Hiashi's eyebrow rose after hearing his daughter's request. He didn't expect his daughter to ask something like this.

"May I ask what kind of training would you be working with?" He asked.

"I-I'm not for certain. I was invited by S-Shikamaru-San in class today and h-he never specified. He did say that his f-father would be overseeing the t-training." Hinata answered, still trying to keep herself from stuttering too much in front of her father.

"I see." Hiashi responded as he started to think to himself about the request.

'_So Shikaku will be in charge of this training.'_ The Hyuga clan head made a note in his head. Hiashi, although displeased by his personality, had a great deal of respect for Shikaku. The Nara clan head was known throughout Konoha for his intelligence and skills as a shinobi. He wasn't Konoha's Jonin Commander for nothing. Hiashi couldn't help but feel curious about how Shikaku trained with his clan and heir.

Hiashi's eyes wandered over to his daughter, who was looking at her father nervously. The elder Hyuga would have sighed if he wasn't skilled in keeping his emotions in check. Although he hated to admit it, as it injured his pride, Hinata was a disappointment to him. The girl was not making too much progress in her daily training at the Hyuga compound. Any progress she makes is overshadowed by the skills of her cousin, Neji. Even her younger sister, Hanabi, was showing more progress in the clan's Gentle Fist Art. Hiashi was at a loss on what to do with his eldest daughter. If she couldn't find away to improve her skills, she would soon be replaced as the heiress of the clan.

'…_perhaps training with Shikaku would be beneficial for her. Maybe he could show her something to help.'_ Hiashi thought, thinking back to the request his daughter made. He turned his head back to his daughter, who was still nervously waiting for his response.

"Very well. I will allow you to attend this training with the Nara clan." He informed his daughter. Hinata's eyes widened in surprise at his approval. "I expect you to not be a burden to Shikaku-San and the others at his training."

Hinata's face dropped a little at his words. Still, she couldn't help but feel surprised by her father's approval and happiness that she could spend the rest of her afternoon training with Naruto and Shikamaru. "I won't father." She informed him.

"If that's all you had to ask me, then you are dismissed." The Hyuga clan head stated.

Hinata nodded at his words. She got up and bowed to her father before leaving the room. Her father turned back to his report and his work as if the conversation had never happened.

* * *

Hinata had hurried away from her clan's compound as fast as she could. By the time she reached the Nara compound, Naruto and Shikamaru were already there outside, waiting for her. She felt herself starting to blush in embarrassment.

"Ah! I-I'm sorry f-for keeping you g-guys waiting..." She mumbled, upset that she was already being a burden before the training begin. Perhaps she wouldn't be able to complete her father's request...

"Don't worry about it Hinata! We are all actually early anyway!" Naruto told her with one of his trademark grins. His words seemed to calm Hinata down a little.

"Yeah, it's no problem." Shikamaru informed her. "But since we are all here now, we should probably head inside and meet up with my parents."

With those words, the three academy students walked into the compound. Naruto and Hinata followed Shikamaru as he led them towards where his parents were waiting.

"Shikamaru, your place is huge! I can't believe you live here!" Naruto exclaimed as he took in the sights of the compound.

"Well, it kind of has to be. My clan has a lot of members in it. Probably not as big as yours, though, eh Hinata?" Shikamaru asked the Hyuga heiress.

"Um...I t-think they are s-similar in size. M-Maybe the H-Hyuga compound is a l-little bigger, b-but I l-like yours a l-lot!" Hinata informed him with a smile.

"Wait, yours is bigger? Geez, I need to see that place too!" Naruto mumbled in shock. He knew his friends were in pretty major clans of Konoha, but he never realized that they had such nice houses!

The conversation effectively ends there as the three finally reach their destination; a small courtyard to the side of the compound. Shikaku and Yoshino were there.

"There you are!" Yoshino stated, a smile on her face. "I take it these are your friends Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru nodded in response before turning to his classmates. "Mom, Dad, these two are Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Hinata. Naruto, Hinata, my parents."

"I-It's an h-honor to meet y-you both." Hinata bowed to the Nara clan head and his wife. She gave them the respect they rightfully deserved.

"Nice to meet you both! Your son's really lazy, but he's pretty cool." Naruto informed them with a laugh. His greeting was a strong contrast to Hinata's; way too casual and almost lacking in respect.

Shikamaru grumbled in response as Yoshino started to laugh.

"I already like them, especially Naruto!" She declared, a smirk on her face. "Perhaps we can pound some responsibility into him and get him less lazy!"

Naruto laughed in response. Hinata couldn't help but giggle as well and Shikaku gave a smirk. Shikamaru only continued to grumble, mumbling something about 'loud blondes' and ' troublesome mothers'.

"Well, as much fun as it is to mess with my Shikamaru-Kun, you all should really start your training! Best of luck!" The Nara mother told the students before she walked off to the side to watch the training.

Naruto and Hinata gave her thanks before they turned to face Shikamaru's father, who had been quiet during the whole exchange. He had been observing them.

"Okay, you guys ready?" Shikaku asked the three students. All of them nodded in response. "Good. Now...before we begin; Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Shikaku made the necessary handsign and a poof of smoke appeared. By the time the smoke vanished, three clones of Shikaku stood behind the man. Hinata's eyes widened at the sight while Naruto's mouth nearly dropped to the floor.

"Whoa! How did you do that? Those look so much cooler than the clones they try to teach us in the academy! They almost look real!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, staring at the clones.

"That's cause they are." Shikaku replied lazily.

"Really? Okay, those are so much better than the stupid clones Iruka-Sensei has been trying to teach us! I HAVE to learn this instead!" The blonde-haired student declared.

The Nara clan head gave a small laugh. "One day, kid. But the Shadow Clone Jutsu isn't taught to academy students. Requires way too much chakra. Maybe one day, when you are a jonin and have more chakra."

_'Although, with the Kyuubi, you probably have enough already...'_ Shikaku thought to himself.

Naruto grumbled in response but seemed to drop the subject. He still had every intention of learning that jutsu as soon as he could though.

"Anyway, I made my shadow clones for the purpose of sparring with you all." Shikaku told them. "With the exception of Shikamaru, I really don't have any knowledge of your skills or weaknesses. Therefore, I will have my clones fight you while I observe them. They won't be giving it their all; just enough so that they test you and give a good fight. I'll see your fights with them and find out what your strengths are. We will then go on from there. Any objections?"

All three students shook their heads. Naruto eyed one of the clones with determination, ready to take it down. Hinata looked at one a little nervously, hoping that she would be able to give a good match and show the Nara clan head what she was capable of. Shikamaru just stared into space, thinking of a strategy he could utilize to best his father's close as quickly as possible.

"No objections? Good! Then we'll begin the spars now. Good luck." Shikaku told them.

With those words, the three clones immediately charged at the students. Their sparring began.

* * *

The real Nara Shikaku stood off to the side with his wife, watching the individual sparring sessions. For the first time all day, Yoshino was silent as she watched the students fight off her husband's clones. Both were busy analyzing the spars.

Shikamaru spent most of his match keeping himself distanced from the clone. Shikaku knew his son wasn't too skilled in taijutsu, and therefore, would try to keep his distance during the fight. Shikamaru used kunai and other weapons to attack from a distance while trying to trap his father's clone in a trap based on their surroundings. Shikamaru eventually led the clone into the trap, getting it close to a nearby tree. Shikamaru caught the clone within his shadow and forced it to smack its head against tree. He then threw one final kunai at the clone, dispelling it and winning his match.

Naruto's fight was a lot less complex to watch. The boy kept charging at Shikaku's clone, trying to take it down with as much force as possible and as quickly as possible. The plan backfired, as the clone was able to dodge most of the attacks from Naruto's predictable moves. The more the spar went on, though, the more Naruto took advantage. His moves and fighting were getting more spontaneous with each second passing. He was also not getting tired at all, despite all the time and energy. Eventually, Naruto was able to get enough sound, strong hits on the clone and dispel it, causing instant relief.

Hinata's fight showed that between her and her classmates, she was the most skilled in taijutsu, most likely as a result of training in her clan's fighting style. Hinata was much harder for the clone to avoid and strike at. She, however, was unable sometimes to get in for finishing blows that would have ended the spar quicker. The clone took advantage of this and started to take advantage of a couple of the weakness of the gentle fist. Hinata's fight grew harder as time went on, but she was eventually able to finally make a finishing blow and dispel the clone.

With all clones dispelled, Shikaku gained their memories, which seemed to confirm his thoughts. He proceeded to get up and walk over to the students.

"Well, good job you guys. Not too bad at all. Granted my clones weren't fighting with nearly any of the power they could have, but I was just trying to analyze where you all were at in terms of skill, and I think I got a good idea now." The Nara clan head informed them.

Shikaku first turned his head to his son. "Shikamaru, we've discussed this before in previous spars: you are clearly resourceful and intelligent on the battlefield. Your strategies are good and will only get better with more experience. However, your taijutsu is lacking as well as your offensive attacks overall. That needs to get improved on if you want to get stronger as a shinobi."

Shikamaru nodded at his words, giving a slight yawn as well. He knew of his weaknesses so it didn't really bother him to hear them.

"Naruto." His father continued, turning his head to the blonde haired boy. "Your overall taijutsu was lacking. You started off rather uncoordinated. Your speed could also be worked on a little. Having said that, you have some remarkable stamina and strength. You also became rather spontaneous as the fight went on; harder to predict and harder to avoid. That's a great trait to have: something that would be good to develop on!"

Naruto started off frowning but, by the end of the Nara's analysis, couldn't help but grin. He liked the sound of being 'spontaneous,' whatever that meant. If it made him hard to hit, then he liked a lot. He would work on getting himself faster and more 'spontaneous' in order to get even closer to being Hokage!

Shikaku finally turned his attention to the final student. "Hinata, I noticed you could have ended the sparring a lot sooner but failed to take initiative and do the finishing blows. That's something you need to work; not wasting time. You also seemed to get more tired as the fight went on. Having said all that, though, you clearly have the best of taijustu amongst your friends and you maintained a level head during the fight. Amongst all three of you, you probably would be the strongest from an offense standpoint, and that's good!"

Hinata's eyes widened a little bit. She seemed a little upset after hearing of some of her weaknesses, but hearing that she was probably the strongest in terms of offense surprised her. She couldn't help but smile in response. Perhaps that's something her father would be pleased to hear...

"Well, that's basically the things I noticed in a nutshell. There were some little things that you all can work on, but I'm hoping to work on your major issues right now." Shikaku informed them.

Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru nodded at his words. The Nara clan head then motioned for his wife to come over. She rushed over to her husband's side and stared at the three academy students, giving her own analysis.

"We're going to try and work on your major weaknesses that I noticed from the sparring. Naruto, Shikamaru; you two are going to work with me on getting your taijutsu styles stronger. Hinata, you will be working with Yoshino on your stamina. She'll also try and make you more 'decisive' in terms of finishing off opponents if she can."

"Oh trust me, I can do that!" His wife said with a wink. Shikaku felt a sweat drop go down his face while Hinata could feel her nerves acting up.

"...anyway..." The Jonin commander mumble with a slight cough. "Let's get back to training. Hinata, follow Yoshino. She'll be working on your stamina. Shikamaru, Naruto, stay here. I'll work on getting your taijutsu stances and styles better."

All three students nodded in response. Shikamaru and Naruto opened up their stances while Hinata was being escorted by a happy Yoshino off to another part of the Nara compound.

* * *

"That should cover it for today." Shikaku noted with a yawn as he noticed the sun starting to come down.

Naruto and Shikamaru gave no response except their heavy breathing. Shikaku spent their time working on taijutsu nonstop. Both boys, even Naruto, were tired and ready for a break.

Shikaku gave a slight laugh at the sight of the tired boys. He then turned his head and saw Yoshino was coming back to the courtyard with an equally tired Hinata. The young Hyuga heiress was also covered in bruises and looked like she was about to pass out.

"I think I did a good job today! Wouldn't you say, Hinata-Chan?" Yoshino playfully asked the girl. The indigo-haired girl only nodded slightly in response, too tired to give a full nod.

The Nara woman then turned her attention to Naruto as well as Hinata. "I hope you both had a good time and that training helped! We are actually about to start eating soon, if you both would like to stay for dinner as well. I'm sure you are both hungry after that hard work!"

Naruto seemed to get significantly less tired at the mention of food. "Sure! Thanks a lot! And yeah, today helped a lot! Thank you so much for that too!"

Hinata was still significantly tired, but was able to make out a response. "I c-can probably s-stay. T-Thank y-you s-so much f-for everything, Yoshino-Sama, Shikaku-Sama."

"No need to be so formal. I thought we discussed that during out training!" Yoshino replied. "But no problem at all! You are both Shikamaru's friends, so we are glad to help you both! I'll call you all when dinner is ready. For now, just relax!"

With those words, Nara Yoshino headed back into the compound and towards the dining room. Her husband followed shortly behind, leaving Shikamaru and his friends behind.

"...that was some workout, eh Hinata?" Naruto asked her with a laugh.

"...y-yes it was..." She replied, still slightly panting. "It...it w-was helpful though."

"Oh of course! That's probably the hardest I've trained in awhile! No doubt I got tougher from that! If I could keep training here like that all the time, I'd be strong enough to be Hokage in no time dattebayo!" Naruto declared excitedly before turning to Shikamaru. "You're pretty lucky, you know that Shikamaru?"

The Nara gave no response. He was laying on his back on the ground and didn't seem to have any reaction.

"...oi, Shikamaru! Did you seriously fall asleep?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"No. I'm relaxing and trying to get my energy back." He replied tiredly.

"And how are you doing that?" His blonde classmate asked.

"Cloud watching." The Nara stated simply.

"Really?" Naruto mumbled in response.

Shikamaru only gave a nod back. "You two should try it."

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other for a second before they both nodded in response. They then laid down on the ground by Shikamaru and stared at the clouds in the sky.

"...you know, that one looks like a bowl of ramen." Naruto noted with a laugh as he pointed to one cloud in particular.

"...troublesome. You would notice something like that." Shikamaru grumbled.

Hinata giggled in response, feeling a little less tired and more at ease. "Y-You have to a-admit, Shikamaru-Kun, t-that N-Naruto-Kun is right. It d-does look like r-ramen."

"...eh. I guess." The Nara mumbled in reply.

The three academy students remained in the same spot, watching the clouds. They didn't speak much, except to mention whenever a certain cloud looked like something really bizarre. Instead, they spent the remaining few minutes in peaceful silence.

Naruto and Hinata almost couldn't hide their laughter. _'Shikamaru/Shikamaru-Kun was right. This really is relaxing...'_

Shikamaru himself didn't even bother to hide his smirk. _'Guess they do like watching clouds too...interesting.'_

The three friends continued to relax under the clouds, unaware of anything else going on in the world.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Well there's chapter two everybody! Hope that was a quick enough update for you guys :) I do intend on updating faster though sometimes, so I hope to get the next one up even sooner! I'm still looking forward to later chapters in the story, where certain plans will come into play...but we shall all have to wait for that! :P

I was pleasantly surprised at all the early support I got! Thank you all so much! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as well! Let me know what you all think so far and let me know of any concerns or criticism you have! I'd love to hear it! :) I'll see you guys by the next update! Until then!


	3. Changes and Improvements

**Disclaimer: Still don't Naruto. Maybe one day? My birthday is coming up in a little more than three months...if you want to give me an epic present, that's an idea? :D**

**Author's Note**: Really quick, one of the reviewers (Asiangirl147) reminded me that I never mentioned their ages! I'll be going back and editing the first chapter with that info. But for now, know they are twelve. The story takes place in the middle of the year of the Rookie Nine's graduation year. Sorry for any confusion! Thanks for pointing that out though :) Anyway, enough rambling! Onto the story! Please read and enjoy :)

* * *

"Okay, class, I'm going to pass out a scroll to you all about the Second Shinobi World War. We'll all read them in class and discuss it. Pay attention, everybody. You _will_ be tested on it!" Iruka informed the academy students as he pulled out a pile of scrolls.

Nearly everyone in the classroom groaned at their sensei's words. They were not looking forward to any more 'boring' history lessons and were certainly not looking forward to any tests in the future.

Surprisingly, Naruto was one of the few people who didn't groan. Instead, he had a mischievous smirk planted on his face.

The scrolls were passed around the class. When Iruka noticed that all of the students had a scroll, he called their attention to him by coughing.

"Okay, now, let's open it up and start the lesson." He spoke, about to begin his lecture as he opened up his scroll.

Nearly everyone in the classroom began to open up their scrolls in unison with their teacher. When the scrolls were open, however, they were all met with surprise. A ball of blue paint shot out of each scroll, splashing the person who opened the scroll. In a couple of seconds, nearly the whole class was covered in paint.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Kiba yelled as he tried to rub paint out of his eyes.

"Who did this?" A student in the front of the classroom complained quietly, more focused in getting paint out of his shirt.

"MY HAIR!" Ino shrieked, trying to get the disgusting blue paint out of her hair.

Other various yells were heard from all the students. Iruka was barely containing his own yelling. His eyes needed to confirm something, in order to have a target for his yelling. The teacher looked around the room and saw that three students weren't soaked in paint. Hinata, Shikamaru, and Naruto were not covered in the paint. Iruka could feel his rage growing. His suspicions were all but confirmed and he now had an outlet for his rage.

"NARUTO! EXPLAIN WHY YOU TAMPERED WITH MY SCROLLS?" The academy teacher yelled.

All eyes in the room turned to the blonde-haired boy. All the wet, paint-covered students were sending the boy glares, blaming him for the incident.

"I don't know what you are talking about sensei! That wasn't me!" Naruto informed him. Then, the boy broke down into laughter. "Although, props to the guy who did. That was hilarious!"

"Oh, give me a break dobe!" Ino shouted in response, beating her own sensei to the opportunity to yell at the troublemaker. She spoke with an infuriated tone as she tried to get paint out of her hair. "A stupid prank like this is like your M.O. And the only people who don't get wet just so happen to be you and your friends? This is totally your fault you stupid baka!"

"It wasn't me! I bet if I opened my scroll I'd get wet too. I just didn't cause I didn't want to learn about some stupid war of the past." Naruto replied, his face starting to show some irritation.

"And what of your friends?" Ino asked back, still angry and blaming the boy.

"I just didn't open it. Don't care about the war. I probably know everything about it anyway." Shikamaru told the class with a yawn as he laid his head on his desk, trying to fall asleep.

"Um...I-I was j-just being slow t-today. By the t-time I w-was about to o-open it, I s-saw the p-paint hit everyone else. I-I didn't w-want to r-risk opening my scroll." Hinata replied quietly as she messed with her fingers. She didn't like the fact that too many people were staring at her.

"Naruto, can you prove that you didn't do it?" Iruka finally started to speak again. "You always pull pranks like this. It has to be you!"

"Can you prove I did it?" Naruto asked confidently, his smirk developing again. "I didn't do it. It would have been much flashier if I did it! Besides, I bet my scroll is filled with paint too. If I opened, I'd have gotten wet too!"

"We'll see if it is or not. That'll be the proof that you did it!" His sensei replied before he rushed to Naruto's desk and snatched the scroll from it. He opened it, expecting to see a blank scroll and having the proof he needed that Naruto committed the prank.

Instead, he was met with another ball of paint that smacked him in the face.

"NARUTO!" Iruka roared at the top of his lungs.

"Well, there's your proof right there. I didn't do it!" Naruto replied smugly.

Class continued to go on, as Iruka eventually started his lecture on the war. Still, throughout the lecture, the people in class continued to glare at Naruto. There was no proof that he committed the prank, but they couldn't shake the feeling that it was all his fault...

* * *

Once classes ended, Naruto dragged his friends with him to Ichirakus for some ramen. He had a special reason for the visit to his favorite restaurant today. Today was for the celebration of a successful prank.

"Oh man, you should have seen the looks on their faces!" Naruto exclaimed to the two ramen stand workers, Teuchi and Ayame. "They were all so blue and angry! But they couldn't prove it was me so they couldn't punish me."

"Good work then!" Ayame informed her best customer with a small smirk. "I'm impressed you were able to pull of a prank like that though! It's a little more complex than the usual ones."

"Well, I actually had some help with this one." Naruto admitted with a bit of a grin as he elbowed the two students sitting on both sides of him.

Teuchi gasped in mock disappointment. "Shikamaru-San! Hinata-San! You both assisted Naruto in one of his pranks?"

"Um...well, I k-kind of d-did. I p-provided the s-scrolls and g-got o-one of my clansmen to s-seal the paint inside." Hinata replied quietly, poking her fingers together.

Shikamaru grumbled in response. "I was able to give Naruto some advice on how to get out of getting blamed for it. If that counts as helping with it, then sure."

"They helped a lot! But it was all my idea and I was the one who did the dangerous work of switching Iruka-Sensei's scrolls with the rigged ones!" Naruto bragged to the ramen workers.

"Well, the ramen is ready. Here you all go, you crazy troublemakers." Teuchi informed them with a laugh as he and Ayame passed out the ramen orders.

"Finally!" Naruto shouted excitedly as he took his bowl. "Itadakimasu!"

Hinata giggled, watching her friend devour the bowl of ramen in front of him. Shikamaru just shook his head mumbling something under his breath. They then turned their attention to their own bowls of ramen and started eating with their friend.

* * *

For the first time he could remember, time really was going by fast for Naruto. Days at the academy went by quickly, as he enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with Hinata and Shikamaru. He was having more fun than he had at any other time he could remember. The three of them formed a group that seemed completely inseparable to others.

Eventually, another student joined this tight group. During the week Shikamaru and Hinata defended Naruto's dream in class, Akimichi Chouji was away with his clan on a trip to Taki. When he finally returned to Konoha, Shikamaru quickly integrated his old friend into the group. Hinata and Naruto grew close to the 'chubby' Akimichi heir due to his kind nature. Naruto also felt a connection from Chouji's appetite and love for ramen. The boy fit well within the group.

Naruto's relationship with the three kids was not something unnoticed by the academy teachers. Most of them were growing concerned that the 'demon brat' was getting too close to the heirs of the well-known clans of Konoha. Iruka, however, saw the relationships as something different. He saw it as healthy for each of them and beneficial.

The scar-faced chuunin noticed that all four students, with an emphasis on Hinata, Shikamaru, and Naruto, were improving in their grades and skills after their friendship began. Hinata, every once in awhile, would whisper something to her friends and somehow get them to pay attention. Naruto and Shikamaru were beginning to participate in class, which helped raise their grades and standings.

All four of them were also improving in their practical skills as well. The academy teacher noticed that their taijutsu, weapons skills, ninjutsu, and chakra control were improving rapidly, especially in Naruto. The improvements were enough to raise the blonde haired boy out of his position of 'dead last' and into the lower half of students. Iruka was very impressed to say the least. He didn't know how, but the group of the students were indeed improving due to one another.

What the academy teacher did not know, that could also help explain the increased skills, was the training sessions hosted by Shikamaru's parents. Yoshino was so pleased with the results of the first training session that she continued to invite Naruto, Hinata, and Chouji (when he returned) over for more training once a week. Naruto showed up every week, eager as always. Hinata and Chouji also showed up whenever they were given permission from their clans.

Each week, the students were taught under Shikaku and Yoshino, who proved to be extremely strict, sometimes cruel, but effective teachers. Shikaku had managed to teach the four students some proper taijutsu stances and styles and also managed to work on giving them some low-level offensive techniques he knew. The genius man regarded as Konoha's Jonin Commander had many things to teach the academy students.

Yoshino proved to me a major believer in 'proper chakra control' and went out of her way to strengthen the student's control. She taught them the tree walking excercise and was rather brutal with it, giving no breaks until the students were physically exhausted while occasionally throwing blunted kunai at the them, particularly Shikamaru, for 'slacking off'. Her methods were 'cruel and troublesome,' but she was able to simultaneously improve their chakra control and stamina.

All of the training and time was also working on a couple of 'inner' problems among the young students. Shikamaru, although still exceptionally lazy, would occasionally show moments of shear determination and focus. He was definitely not as lazy as he previously was. Hinata was slowly gaining more confidence in herself. Her stuttering, although still existent (especially when a certain blonde was a topic of discussion), was lessened. Chouji as well was growing more confident, despite not being able to show up as often as the others. And Naruto...

Looking back at all the time that had past, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. He, along with his friends, had truly improved as a shinobi under the watch of the Nara clan. He had also found himself accepted for the first time by people his own age and was having a great time with them.

_'Things really are going great dattebayo!'_ Naruto thought to himself, a large grin on his face.

* * *

"Okay, everybody, I'm just reminding you all that the graduation test is coming up in exactly one week! Because of that, we are going to be reviewing all of the material that will be covered on it!" Iruka informed everyone in the class.

A couple of groans were heard from the students, who were not looking forward to anymore 'reviewing'. Surprisingly, Naruto was once again not one of the complaining kids. Instead, he seemed thrilled.

"Finally! It's getting close to time until we are done with this place. We're all going to graduate! We're finally going to be ninja!" Naruto cheered loudly.

"Will you be quiet baka! Some of us are trying to pass here and need to listen to Iruka-Sensei!" Sakura hissed at him.

The blonde haired student frowned in response for a second before his cheerful grin was back. He turned his attention towards his friends.

"You guys just as excited as I am?" He asked them.

"Well, we'll finally be out of the academy and done with these troublesome lectures and excercies, so I'd have to say yeah." Shikamaru replied lazily with a yawn.

Chouji chuckled as he downed more chips from the bag in his hands. "I'm excited as well. Partly because I'm ready for the traditional feast the Akimichi clan holds for all members of the clan that graduate from the academy!"

"You would be excited about something like that!" Naruto noted as he started to laugh. He then turned his attention to the girl sitting next to him. "How about you Hinata? Excited to finally get out of here?"

"Ah! Um...yeah. I-I'm a l-little nervous, but I'm excited as well." She replied with a smile. "I-I'm hoping we can end up on the s-same team after graduation."

Naruto was about to respond but was interrupted by a cough from Iruka.

"Well, if everyone is so ready to get out of the academy," The chuunin stated as he glared over at Naruto and his friends, "then we can begin our review!"

Naruto grumbled in response but turned around and gave his teacher the attention he wanted.

Iruka spent the first hour going over information about Konoha, its history, and its famous ninja that had been discussed during the years in the academy. When he finally finished, he led the class outside to a field with lots of logs. The academy teacher began to review the academy basic jutsu (the Substitution, Transformation, and Clone Jutsus) and ordered the students to begin practicing the jutsu on their own.

Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Chouji began working on their Transformation jutsu. All four students were able to transform into identical copies of various academy teachers, with Naruto having the most realistic transformation with his version of Iruka. After they realized they were down with the Transformation, they started working on the Substitution. All four students were able to replace themselves with any of the nearby logs.

"Two for two! Psh, this test next week will be a joke dattebayo!" Naruto cheered.

"It's not meant to be too hard Naruto." Shikamaru mumbled. "Anyway, on to the useless Clone Jutsu. And when that's done, we can just rest for a little bit."

All four students made the necessary handsigns for the jutsu. A poof of smoke filled the air around them. When the smoke cleared, perfect clones of Shikamaru, Hinata, and Chouji appeared. Naruto, however, only created one, seemingly dead blob that could be considered a clone.

"...what the hell! Why do I keep having problems with this?" Naruto complained. "After all of the training and stuff, I'm able to do Transformation and Substitution better. So why can I still not do the stupid Clone Jutsu?"

"Maybe you aren't using enough chakra?" Chouji asked, trying to help his friend.

"Probably the exact opposite problem." Shikamaru mumbled in response. "Hinata, why not you use the byakugan and try and identify Naruto's problem."

"Ah!" Hinata nodded in agreement as she performed the necessary handsigns and activated her clan's doujutsu. "Naruto-Kun, c-could you try the C-Clone Jutsu once more please?"

Naruto nodded his head and made the necessary handsign. Hinata gasped as she watched him perform the jutsu. A poof of smoke filled the air with the same, pathetic clone laying on the ground.

"T-That was far t-too much chakra!" Hinata informed him in shock. She had some expectations that Naruto might have been using too much chakra, but she never guessed he was using _that_ much. "Y-You're going to need to use a w-whole lot less."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her a little but nodded. He made sure to use less chakra this time as he made the handsigns. Just like the time before, the clone that appeared was still dead-looking and on the floor.

"T-That was still too much..." The Hyuga heiress mumbled sadly.

"Oh come on! I was hardly using any that time!" Naruto shouted in frustration as he made the handsigns again. "Clone Jutsu!"

"K-Keep trying to use less..." Hinata requested when she saw another failed clone come out of the smoke.

Shikamaru, Chouji, and Hinata spent the remaining time of practice watching Naruto attempt the Clone Jutsu over and over again. Eventually he asked one of the academy teachers for help, and was only given either a 'use less chakra' or a 'keep trying and you will get it down eventually' comment in response. Nothing new and nothing helping him. Sighing heavily, Naruto went back to practicing until Iruka informed the class it was time to begin weapons training.

"It doesn't make sense. Most people have problems getting enough chakra. How is it that he can's use just a little bit?" Chouji mumbled in confusion.

"N-Naruto-Kun has more chakra than I-I've ever seen, even amongst the n-ninja in my clan." Hinata replied. The tone of her voice was mixed: she was happy for Naruto that he had so much chakra (as it would help him in the long run of shinobi career and make it easier to become Hokage) but also sad that it was causing him so many problems with learning the Clone Jutsu.

"It's a troublesome problem..." Shikamaru mumbled in complaint as usual. He seemed deep in thought. He didn't want to see his friend not pass the test for a reason as stupid as having too much chakra._ 'That'd be the most idiotic reason to fail someone!'_ The young genius was trying to think of a way to help the blonde haired boy to get the Clone Jutsu down.

_'...maybe Dad can help if I bring up the problem...' _Shikamaru mused to himself.

* * *

The first thing Nara Shikaku did when he arrived at his compound was head to his private cellar, pull out a bottle of sake, and head out to the courtyard to drink in peace. Spending all day in the Nara Clan's Forest working with the deer was 'rather troublesome' and Shikaku enjoyed a drink or two after such a day.

The Jonin Commander of Konoha took a seat at a small table in his courtyard and immediately chugged on his bottle, prepared to zone out the whole world and enjoy an evening of sake.

"Hey, Dad!"

Shikaku turned his head and saw Shikamaru heading over to him. The Nara clan head grumbled to himself in frustration before putting down his bottle of sake and turning to his son. "Yes?"

"...troublesome request, I know, but it's going to bother me if I don't ask about it. We were practicing the Clone Jutsu today in class and Hinata and I noticed Naruto having problems with it. I was wondering what you think can be done to help him, since the academy is a pain in the ass that requires the stupid jutsu in order to graduate." Shikamaru informed him with a sigh.

"Well, what kind of problems are we talking about?" The Nara clan head asked. He had an idea on what he thought could be the problem, but he wanted to hear his son's suspicions.

"Chakra." His son responded. "It's as if he is incapable of using so little chakra for the technique. Hinata confirmed with the Byakugan that he uses way too much chakra, even when he is trying not to use too much."

Shikaku nodded his head in understanding before closing his eyes in thought.

_'Just as I thought. The Kyuubi probably gives him too much chakra in his system. Heh, most people have issues with too little chakra. This kid's issue is the exact opposite. That's rather unfortunate.'_ He chuckled inwardly.

_'Still, we have been working on chakra control. This kid is getting better at it, but it sounds as if he hasn't improved at all with the jutsu. He'll probably never be able to do a regular clone. Troublesome...very troublesome. Well, knowing that, how can we get the kid to pass?'_

_'...wait, he probably can't ever do regular clones. But what about a different type of clone?'  
_

Almost immediately, an idea struck Konoha's Jonin Commander. He ran through the idea in his head and smirked at the expected results.

"Shikamaru, I'll have it covered by the next training session. In the mean time, don't worry about him and clones." Shikaku told his son.

"Eh okay. I wasn't too worried though, honestly. Even if Naruto couldn't make a clone, he'd still find some way to pass." Shikamaru shrugged in response. Despite his words, it was apparent that he was relieved for his friend.

Shikaku smirked in response. "Very true."

With his question and concerns answered, Shikamaru walked off, heading to his usual cloud-wathing spot. Shikaku remained in his seat, still thinking about Naruto and his issue with clones.

_'If this were anyone else, I'd be worried to show them how to do shadow clones. But Naruto should be fine. He's got enough stamina and chakra to pull it off...troublesome kid.'_ Shikaku thought to himself in amusement as he picked up his bottle of sake and started to drink once again.

* * *

Two days later, the next training session began at the Nara compound. Shikaku and Yoshino stood in their usual spot in the Nara courtyard as they watched Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru walk up to them.

"Ah, Chouji couldn't come today?" Yoshino asked sadly.

"Yeah, he wasn't feeling too good in class today and went home. We stopped by the Akimichi compound on the way here to check on him and he said he was getting sick. His mom didn't want him coming today cause of it." Shikamaru informed her with a frustrated sigh. The lazy genius seemed bothered that his best friend was sick and couldn't train.

"That's not good at all! I'm going to stop by and see what's wrong with him after training!" Yoshino declared, still sad. She was rather fond of the Akimichi boy.

"Later though. We got training to do." Shikaku stated, getting everyone's attention. "Today, Yoshino will be working on improving your chakra control."

Yoshino's sadness went away in seconds and was replaced with a sadistic grin on her face. She instinctively reached for a blunted kunai and pointed it at the group of academy students, who sweat dropped immediately.

The Nara clan head chuckled before he continued to speak. "Anyway, yeah, she will work on chakra control today for about an hour. I'll tell you what we will do when you are done and recovered."

The three students nodded nervously in response. Yoshino giggled a little before starting to walk over to a couple of trees. All three students started following her.

"Wait, Naruto!" The blonde turned around to see that Shikaku was calling him. "You'll head over to join Yoshino and your friends in a little bit. For now, I have to show you something."

Naruto walked back, leaving his friends alone with the sadistic Nara woman. He remained with Konoha's Jonin Commander.

"Shikamaru told me you were having trouble with the Clone Jutsu." He told the boy simply.

The blonde haired kid scoffed in irritation. His irritation went away in seconds when he realized the implication of the conversation. "Wait, can you help me with it?"

"Heh, nope." Shikaku told him with a smirk.

"...what?" Naruto's eyes widened.

"You have too much chakra from what I understand. You're physically incapable of creating regular clones, so you probably will never get the jutsu down with any help." The Nara clan head informed him.

"...really?" The Jinchuuriki asked Shikamaru's dad, a distressed tone in his voice. When the man nodded in response, the boy immediately started to scowl and raise his voice. "Then how the hell am I supposed to graduate? This stupid jutsu is required for the test! Damn it!"

"Relax kid. Relax." Shikaku ordered Naruto. Naruto continued to fume silently, a frustrated and upset look on his face. "Look, you can't do a regular clone. However, that doesn't mean you can't pass with a different kind of clone!"

Before Naruto had the chance to respond, Shikaku made the necessary handsign for the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Smoke filled the air and another Shikaku stood right next to the man.

"If you have too much chakra for simple clones, then we'll just use your chakra for a more powerful technique that needs more chakra. You still interested in learning Shadow Clones?" He asked with a smirk on his face.

Naruto's eyes widened once again. A large grin appeared on his face, almost breaking his face in half.

"No way! Are you serious? Hell yeah!" Naruto shouted loudly in excitement. "I get to learn this epic jutsu and pass the test! This is awesome!"

The Nara laughed in amusement at the boy's excitement. _'I swear, no kid should get me to laugh this much. Uzumaki Naruto...you are troublesome, but in a good way.'_

"Cheer all you want, kid, but know that this won't be easy at all." He stated. "Now, I'm going to show you how to do the jutsu. You need to pay attention closely. You ready?"

Naruto calmed himself down and nodded at the man's words. Shikaku in turn made the handsign for the shadow clones.

"Great, now let's begin! Now first, this is the necessary handsign..."

* * *

"You need to take a break soon? Get yourself more energized?" Shikaku asked Naruto, noting his panting after another failed attempt.

"No! I'm getting close! I can feel it!" He replied in response, determination filled in it.

The Nara shrugged in response as he continue to watch the boy try. An hour had passed since the training began. Yoshino returned to her husband, Shikamaru and Hinata following behind tiredly. The two kids were watching their blonde friend attempt the jutsu again.

"How did your training go?" He asked his wife.

"They're getting better. They can get higher on the trees than last time and stay up longer. And they were only hit by a few kunai today." Yoshino told him cheerfully. "I'm thinking during the next session, though, I'll use real kunai. Maybe if they can get hit by a real one and get one wound or so, they'll have even more incentive to keep training and not get hit!"

Shikamaru groaned in frustration at his mother's idea while Hinata's body shook nervously.

"How's your session with Naruto-Kun? Is he still working on it?" The Nara woman asked.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as a poof of smoke filled the air.

"Yup." Shikaku replied as the smoke started to dissipate. "He's making progress so far. He hasn't gotten it down yet, but he's getting close..."

The Nara had more he was going to say, but he stopped himself when the smoke fully disappeared. In its place, another Naruto stood right next to the boy. He was currently staring at it, eyes wide.

"...did I do it? This is it?" He asked.

Shikaku shook his head in frustration. "You would wait until I said you hadn't gotten it down to actually do it." The man sighed, before his lips turned upward in one of his trademark smirks. "But, yep. You got it down kid. You can do shadow clones now."

Naruto immediately tackled the shadow clone he had created to the ground, rolling around with it in excitement.

"YES! I'm going to graduate! I got this down! I'm one step closer to becoming Hokage dattebayo!" He exclaimed in excitement.

Hinata giggled at her friend's excitement while Shikamaru had a smirk on his own face. The two ran over to the blonde and pulled him up from the ground away from his clone.

"Impressive! Very impressive!" Shikamaru told him, his smirk not getting any smaller.

"Indeed! T-That was amazing Naruto-Kun!" Hinata informed him, her smiling face tinted with a light pink blush.

Naruto's reaction to his friends' praise was to grab them both and pull them into a large hug. Shikamaru started trying to squirm out a little, having problems breathing properly. Hinata had trouble breathing as well, but for different reasons.

_'Naruto-Kun is hugging me! He's hugging me! Don't faint, don't faint, don't faint, don't faint...'_ Hinata repeated the mantra in her head as her face turned scarlet.

Eventually the boy did let go, allowing Shikamaru to breath properly. Hinata still seemed to be in some dreamy daze, but was inwardly cheering herself for not fainting under her crush's embrace.

"Well, from what I understand, you all deserve a break for a little bit. I know Naruto probably does at least." Shikaku spoke, getting the attention of all the students again. "Take about twenty or thirty minute break and head back here. We'll work on improving your resistances to genjutsu when you are back."

"Okay!" Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru replied in unison. The three of them walked off together, heading towards a tree. They then laid down in its shade and started to watch the clouds together.

"...just what we needed: more cloud watchers! Our son is rubbing off on them it seems." Yoshino noted with a sigh.

"Perhaps. And they are rubbing off on him as well." Shikaku replied.

"True. Very true. I like that they are and wished they would rub off on him more! Maybe that would get rid of his laziness!" The Nara woman told her husband with a smirk of her own. "They really work well together, you know. They probably would work well together as a genin team. Maybe even better than you and your old teammates!"

The Nara clan head was about to give a sarcastic reply back but one glare from his wife told him it would be 'troublesome' to say otherwise. Instead, he remained quiet and watched his son lay down with his friends.

_'You know, I can tell they are all really helping each other get better as shinobi.' _The Nara noted. _'...maybe they would be a really good team...I should maybe talk to Hokage-Sama about them...'_

* * *

**Author's Note:** And there is chapter three! :D I'm getting in the habit of weekly updates! I like this system :) I might sometimes try to update faster, but I think I can safely say that I'll be updating at least once a week! :D_  
_

So close till the end of the academy. Then things can begin to get fun...:)

Thank you all so much for the continued support! You guys are awesome! :) I hope you all continue to enjoy! Let me know of any comments you have, like questions or criticism. It can only help to make my story better for you all! :D

So...that's it! I'll see you guys for the next update! Until then :)


	4. Tests and Revelations

**DISCLAIMER: I own a computer. I used it to write this chapter, as well as this disclaimer. What I don't own is Naruto. That is a really sad truth, though :(  
**

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto woke up with a loud and obnoxious yawn from his sleep, if you could even call it sleep. Truth be told, he had been awake most of the night. He had been anxious about today.

_'Today is the day. It's finally the day of the graduation test!'_ He thought as he continued to yawn.

The past two years, Naruto had taken the graduation exam and felt similar to how he did today. Those days, however, resulted in failure. He wasn't able to pass and ended up spending more years at the academy. Today, however, he felt more confident than the last two years. He knew he had improved from before. He was no longer the 'dead last' after all!

_'I will do it today! I will become genin. I will become a shinobi and be once step closer to being Hokage dattebayo!'_ He mentally shouted.

Naruto rushed to get ready as fast as he could for the day. He got dressed, brushed his teeth, and managed to eat something really quick that he could find in his apartment. He then hurried off to meet up with his friends and head off to the academy. The boy made sure to leave earlier than normal. He was not going to be late today of all days!

* * *

"As you all know, today is the day of the graduation exam. You've all been training so hard the past few years and more. It is now your time to show us what you have learned in order to become genin of Konoha!" Iruka informed the class.

Class had officially started. It was time for the graduation test. None of the studnets said a word, a rare moment. Everyone knew the importance of the day. They were all going to listen to every word Iruka said to make sure they graduate.

"Your test is divided into three parts. The first test is a written exam based on information I've taught over the years in the academy. The second part is a test on weapons and your accuracy and skill with them. The final test is a test on the required jutsu. You must be able to perform all three jutsu perfectly in order to pass that part of the test and graduate!" The scarred-chuunin explained.

Naruto could barely hide his excitement at this point. _'Oh, just wait till you guys see my clones!'_

"We shall begin now. I shall pass out the tests. You may begin when you get your papers." Iruka spoke up again as he started to hand out papers to students.

Naruto immediately turned his head to Shikamaru and Chouji, who were sitting in the table behind him. He gave them a silent nod, wishing them good luck. Both boys returned his nod, wishing him the same. Naruto then turned his attention to Hinata, who was sitting next to him.

"Good luck Hinata!" He whispered to her, a large grin on his face.

Hinata felt her cheeks flush a little but was able to smile back and response. "Y-You as well Naruto-Kun!"

Eventually, all papers were passed out. The students went to work, starting to answer all the questions on their written exam. Iruka stood in the center of the room, watching of all his students. His eyes then moved over to Naruto, who was staring hard at one of the first questions.

_'Naruto...you can do it this time!'_ Iruka thought to himself, wishing his secret-favorite student the best.

* * *

"It is now time for the third and final test. Please, come follow me out of the room and over to the examination area when I call your name. After you finish, whether you pass or fail, you will be asked to leave the building. You can wait for friends outside if you must. First up: Aburame Shino!" One of the academy instructors stated.

Naruto watched as Shino, the quietest student in class, headed out the room without a sound and followed the instructor.

Naruto's excitement was at an all time high, especially after the first two parts of the test. The written exam was relatively bad, but Naruto, due to recently paying attention in class and studying with Hinata, Shikamaru, and Chouji, was able to pull off enough correct answers to pass the first part barely. On the second exam with weapons, Naruto excelled, showing proficiency with both kunai and shuriken. He owed his successes there to Nara Yoshino and Shikaku and their practice sessions.

Now, it was time for the third part of the exam, where Naruto would do more than just excel. He was excited to see the results of all his hard work.

"Akimichi Chouji!" The instructor stated the name of Naruto's friend, ending his thoughts on his own excitement.

"Really? That fast? Did Shino already finish?" Naruto asked in surprise.

Shikamaru shrugged in response. "Probably. Shino's good. He probably did it fast in near record time." The lazy Nara then turned to his childhood best friend. "You really don't need it, but good luck Chouji."

"Yeah! Good luck Chouji!" Naruto stated as he turned his attention over to his 'bony' friend.

"D-Do your best!" Hinata added.

The Akimichi heir chuckled as he got up from his seat. "Thanks guys! See you all soon!"

The big-boned Akimichi left the room and all remained quiet. It took a little longer in comparison to the Aburame heir, but the instructor eventually came back and called out the next name.

"Chouji definitely passed. No doubt about it!" Naruto stated confidently.

"No doubt." Shikamaru mumbled in response.

Names continued to be said. More and more students continued to head on out of the room. A certain tension and nervous feeling seemed to grow in the room with each student that left. Hinata started feeling it the most amongst her friends. She started paying attention to the floor only as she fidgeted with her fingers.

"Hey Hinata, don't worry so much! You're going to do great!" Naruto informed her with a smirk. "We've been practicing this stuff for how long? You'll kick ass dattebayo!"

Hinata blushed once again, partly due to Naruto's praise and partly due to his language. Nevertheless, she nodded her head in response and was able to turn her head upward towards him. "I-I know. Thank you Naruto-Kun."

Soon after Naruto's encouragement, the instructor came back and called out the next name. "Hyuga Hinata!"

"Eep!" She gasped. She hadn't really been paying attention to the names being called, so she wasn't expecting to all of a sudden hear her name.

"Don't worry Hinata, you'll do great!" Naruto informed her once more.

"He's right you know." Shikamaru added his own two cents. "It's not that hard and you're a good ninja. You'll do great."

Hinata still had a look of fear in her eyes. All of her life she had been told she was a failure by her clan. Wouldn't it make sense to fail here and show everyone she was a failure? Still, she knew those fears were baseless. She was able to pass this test and she had her friends' support. She could do this.

"T-Thank you both. G-Good luck to you guys!" She told them as she got out of her seat and walked off, following the instructor.

Naruto and Shikamaru were left alone. The blonde boy took the opportunity to leave his seat and go sit in the desk behind in the seat Chouji sat in next to the lazy Nara.

"Just curious, who do you think will pass?" He asked him.

"...troublesome. That's a rather specific question." Shikamaru grumbled. "Honestly, I'd bet nearly everyone here. It's not too difficult of a test after all."

"It's not that easy though. I mean, I failed it two times before." Naruto pointed out with a grumble. He hated to admit that, but he still didn't like it when people when said the test was easy. He really did fail the test two times before after all.

"That's because when you took it the last two times, you were an even bigger idiot." The Nara deadpanned.

"HEY!" The Uzumaki glared.

"Calm down, it was just a joke. Troublesome blonde." Shikamaru grumbled, a slight teasing smirk on his face.

Naruto turned away from his friend in mock anger. He knew the boy was joking, but still felt like playing up a show as if he was angry. The two boys didn't talk to each other until the instructor came back after another wave of students. "Nara Shikamaru!"

"Well, my turn now. Great..." Shikamaru groaned, forcing himself out of his desk.

"Good luck Shikamaru." Naruto told him as he watched his friend walk off. Shikamaru merely waved back to him in response as he walked off.

Now Naruto was left alone to his thoughts.

_'...I did fail it two times before...what's stopping it from being three?'_ Naruto thought for a split second before he shook his head. _'No way! I can't think like that or I will! Besides, I've been saying it over and over again: I'm better than I was before! I've been training like mad for this! I'm passing this time dattebayo!'_

Naruto said nothing as he watched more and more students head in. He grumbled a little watching Sasuke head off in his usual 'cool,' 'uncaring' demeanor. His complaining about his fellow classmate didn't last too long, though, as soon the instructor came back. "Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Hell yeah! My turn now dattebayo!" Naruto cheered as he hopped out of his desk and ran over to the instructor. Any signs of his previous pessimism were completely gone.

Naruto followed the instructor as he led him into a small room in another hallway of the academy. Inside, there was a large table where the teachers at the academy were all sitting at. Naruto recognized Iruka, Mizuki, and Sayuri on the top of his head. In front of Iruka, were the Konoha forehead protectors. Naruto eyed them, wanting to take one and put it over his head already.

"Uzumaki Naruto, please perform the three academy jutsus. First, the Substitution Jutsu. Trade places with a log that's placed in the corner of the room." One of the teachers that Naruto didn't recognize informed him.

The blonde boy turned his head instinctively to check. There were indeed logs in the corner of the room. He then turned back to the academy instructors, gave them a smirk, and vanished in a poof of smoke. A log was seen in his place while the boy was currently in the corner of the room, sitting on a different log.

_'Without hand signs? As an academy student? Impressive Naruto!'_ Iruka mentally noted, a proud smile on his face at the work of his student.

Unlike Iruka, the other teachers didn't have the same eager excitement. Some down right looked disappointed at the boy's skills and success. Nevertheless, they didn't voice their opinions.

"Verygood. Now, the second jutsu: the Transformation Jutsu. Please turn into a copy of one of the teachers in the room. And please, do _not_ use that stupid 'Sexy Jutsu' of yours!" The teacher from earlier informed the boy with a glare.

"Yeah, yeah. It's a test! I'm not stupid enough to do that!" Naruto dismissed the man's words as he moved from the corner of the room and back in front of them.

The boy made the necessary hand sign and soon vanished in a poof of smoke. In his place stood Umino Iruka. The man was an identical version of the academy teacher in every way. His height and body stature was exact, as was his clothing.

_'He even got my scar just right as well!'_ Iruka noticed. He then coughed a little before speaking. "Very well done Naruto. Considering that it is me, I can tell that you did an excellent job and could probably pass of as me!"

Naruto dropped the transformation immediately after his teacher's words. The short blonde kid was grinning proudly at his teacher.

"Now, the final jutsu." Mizuki spoke up, a slight smirk on his face. "The Clone Jutsu. Please, make as many clones as you can in the room."

Naruto took the second to look at the teachers in front of them. Other than Iruka, who was looking at him with pride, and Mizuki, who he just couldn't read, all of them were staring at him with disbelieving eyes. All of the teachers knew of his weaknesses with chakra control and they knew the Clone Jutsu was his weakness. He felt as if they thought he wasn't going to pass.

_'Time to show them up!'_ Naruto mentally shouted, a smug grin coming over his face. He then made the hand sign of his newly learned jutsu.

Before any of the teachers could react at the different hand sign, the room filled with smoke. When it cleared up, ten clones of Naruto surrounded the boy. Each of them were all staring at the shocked faces of the teachers, grinning smugly just like the original.

"So, what do you think?" One of the clones asked proudly.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu? Impossible! You are an academy student. There's no way you could pull that off! I cant even do that jutsu!" Sayuri shouted in disbelief.

"No...they're real..." The teacher who spoke first looked at them with the same disbelief.

"Naruto...you just went beyond the limits we have established for graduation. I can't think of any student who deserves to graduate more than you right now!" Iruka informed the boy proudly as he picked up a Konoha forehead protector and tossed it to the boy. "Congratulations! You are now an official genin!"

Naruto caught it and didn't waste any second to put it on over his head. He took off the goggles and placed the forehead protector on instead. When he finally looked back at the teachers, his eyes were filled with excitement and almost looked as if he was near tears of joys.

"I'm finally a ninja! Thank you all! Just watch me, you'll see me become the greatest ninja Konoha has ever seen dattebayo!" Naruto proudly declared before he sprinted out of the room.

Most of the teachers continued to stare at the boy in disbelief. The demon brat, the dead last, had just graduated and done beyond any expectations. Slowly, the seeds of doubt on their judgment started to form. Perhaps they were wrong about his success. Perhaps they were wrong about him. Perhaps he wasn't a demon, but a great Konoha shinobi...

_'Naruto...I am taking you for ramen tomorrow when I get the free time. I am so proud of you!'_ Iruka thought to himself, his smile not fading.

Mizuki continued to stare in similar disbelief to the other teachers. His disbelief, however, stemmed from something else.

_'No! That's impossible! He may have been improving, but the one thing he should never have been able to do was pass. He couldn't make a single clone! But no...now he has shadow clones instead. That ruins everything!'_ Mizuki nearly screams in his head.

The white-haired chuunin took a deep breath, calming down his inner rage. _'I have to calm down. So what if he passed? That doesn't ruin my plans. It just means I have to change them a little...'_

_'It doesn't matter though. In the end, I will get my scroll! And, if I play my cards right, that demon will be dead as well!  
_

Mizuki decided to get out of the room and give himself a minute or so to think on how to change his plan. He stood from his seat and turned to the other teachers.

"I believe our business is mostly done, since we only have one student left. I expect her to pass as well! Anyway, I told you guys I had a prior engagement today, so I'm going to have to head to it now. If you will excuse me!" He told them.

The other teachers nodded at their co-worker's words and watched as he walked out of the room. Mizuki's brain was working the entire way as he walked out of the room, trying to redesign his plans.

* * *

Hinata and Shikamaru stood outside the academy entrance, waiting patiently for a certain blonde boy to come out. The two were wearing their Konoha forehead protectors proudly, Hinata over her neck while Shikamaru tied his to his left arm.

All other students had left, leaving either with family, friends, or on their own accord. Even Chouji had to leave, as his father came to take him to the traditional Akimichi Clan's graduation feast. The two were the only ones still there.

"Naturally his clan's name starts with a U. Would put him at the end of the list. Troublesome." Shikamaru complained.

"D-Don't complain too much Shikamaru-Kun. S-Sasuke-San just l-left, so Naruto-Kun must be close to done."

"True, but still." The Nara shrugged.

The two continued to watch the door, looking for signs of their friend. After what felt like forever, a familiar blonde-haired, blue-eyed kid walked out, forehead protector on and a large grin on his face.

"Guess who's a genin now?" He said excitedly.

"Naruto-Kun! That's great!" Hinata stated as she rushed over to him. She wanted to reach over and hug him, but the thought of initiating physical contact with him made her blush and she stopped herself.

"You had to be near the end of the list. Seriously Naruto. Thanks for making us wait." Shikamaru grumbled as he walked over to the boy.

"I didn't ask you guys to wait!" The boy fired back with a glare.

"Doesn't change the fact that we did." The Nara replied. His neutral face then turned into a smile. "Congratulations though, Naruto. You're a genin now and one step closer to your dream."

Naruto's glaring expression immediately went away and he was back to his grinning self. "Thank you! And congrats to you both too! I knew you both could do it! Now, who is up for some Ichirakus?"

"M-Me. F-Father told me earlier t-that I was f-free the whole day cause of the graduation exam." Hinata informed her friends.

"I'm good with that as well. If Mom and Dad complain that I was gone, then I'll just say I was hanging with you guys. They shouldn't complain about that." Shikamaru told them with a smirk on his face.

"Awesome! Then let's head over there fast before the ramen gets cold! ONWARD!" The newly-appointed blonde genin shouted in excitement.

"Naruto, can you wait a second?" A voice called out.

The three graduated students turned around to see their sensei, Mizuki was now walking out of the academy. He was looking over at them, more specifically Naruto. He obviously needed to talk to him for a second or so.

"Sure thing Mizuki-Sensei! Hold on a sec!" The boy shouted to him before turning to his friends. "I'll be back in a second! Let me talk to him real quick and we can be on our way to ramen!"

Hinata and Shikamaru nodded in understanding at their friend's words. Naruto then rushed over to Mizuki, wondering what his sensei wanted to talk about. The chuunin then started to walk off a little bit away from anybody that could possibly overhear their conversation. The genin followed right behind.

"What's up Mizuki-Sensei?" Naruto asked when they both finally stopped walking.

"You did a really good job today in the exams Naruto. I mean, doing the Shadow Clone Jutsu...that's beyond impressive!" Mizuki informed him.

"Heh, thanks a lot Mizuki-Sensei! It's pretty awesome, no?" The blonde-haired graduate replied, his grin still plastered on his face.

"Indeed it is." The chuunin noted with a warm smile. "...awesome enough that I nominated you for a special program the academy offers to one student."

Naruto's grin dropped a little, replaced with a curious expression. "Hmm?"

"Well, you see, the academy has a second exam that occurs right after the first one. It's only offered to one graduate. The teachers have to nominate one student of their choosing and then vote amongst the nominees to decide who will take it." The academy instructor explained. "If the graduate takes the second exam and passes it, then they are automatically promoted to chuunin. And this year, you were chosen to take it!"

Naruto's eyes widened to the size of his favorite ramen bowls. "I was chosen? Why? And what do I have to do?"

"Why? Didn't you see everyone's faces after you performed the Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Mizuki asked him, his smile getting even warmer. "That's beyond the skill set for a genin! You truly showed that you are a genius to be able to accomplish that. All of us instructors decided that for that reason alone you deserve to take the second exam more than anyone else! As for what the exam is, you have to promise you'll take it before given it. It's kind of like a test as well. You don't get to pick the missions the Hokage assigns you all the time, so it's just like that."

Naruto continued to stare at Mizuki in disbelief. The chuunin assumed that Naruto was simply in shock about learning that he could 'become a chuunin' right away. _'My plan's working perfectly already...'_

Naruto, indeed, was in shock by Mizuki's offer. However, it was not for the reasons the academy instructor thought...

_"It doesn't make sense. I actually paid attention on the day Iruka-Sensei went over the chuunin rank this year. I even did good on that test dattebayo! The only way to become chuunin is through the Chuunin Exam or through a field promotion by the Hokage and the Council. The academy doesn't have the authority to do offer me this test...'_ Naruto thought to himself in confusion.

_'Also, the teachers would actually vote for me for this? Sure I'm awesome, kicked serious ass in the exam, and shocked them with my shadow clones, but the teachers all hate me! I couldn't have shocked them that much that they would choose me for this, especially over their 'precious' Sasuke...'_

_'Something about Mizuki-Sensei always never seemed right. He was nice, but weird at the same time. And this whole thing is fishy. What is going on here...'  
_

"Naruto? Are you okay?" The chuunin asks.

The blonde-haired boy is pulled away from his thoughts and brought back to reality. Mizuki is still there, a look of confusion on his face.

"I'm fine yeah. Don't worry about me!" Naruto replies excitedly, putting his grin back on his face. "Now, let's hear about this extra exam. I got a promotion I need to get dattebayo!"

_'If Mizuki-Sensei is really up to something fishy, then I need to know what he's doing. And if accepting his stupid exam is the only way to find out, then I'll do it!'_ Naruto inwardly noted.

Mizuki's smile turned into a grin: a grin that almost seemed maniacal.

"So you'll take it? Excellent!" The chuunin stated excitedly. "Alright Naruto, before I tell you about the exam, let me ask you a question. What do you know about the Scroll of Seals?"

* * *

"So you're telling us that Mizuki-Sensei wants you to steal the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage's Office for a graduation test to chuunin?" Shikamaru asked Naruto. When the blonde boy nodded in response, the Nara heir sighed. "Sounds like a pain. And completely fishy."

Right after he finished his conversation with Mizuki, Naruto met up with his friends and took them to Ichiraku's, like they planned. While there, waiting for their ramen, Naruto told them all about the extra exam.

"That's what I thought as well. There's no way that the academy has the authority for that!" Naruto mumbled in response.

"They don't. That would mean t-that Mizuki-Sensei is t-trying to get you to s-steal the scroll for himself. But...w-why would he?" Hinata voiced her concerns. "H-He was our sensei for y-years and h-he is a loyal Konoha shinobi. W-Why would he t-try to steal it?"

"Guess he's not that loyal after all." Shikamaru shrugged. "So, what are you going to do about it Naruto?"

At this moment, Teuchi came forward and delivered three bowls of ramen for the new graduates. Naruto immediately started to dig into his bowl rapidly. Only when he finished it did he start to speak again.

"Well, I plan on talking to Old Man Hokage about it. After that, I plan on taking down Mizuki personally!" The blonde genin told his friends. "He thought he could trick me into stealing the scroll for him, so I feel like I should be the one to take him down!"

"B-But Naruto-Kun, that w-would be dangerous!" Hinata spoke up quickly. She felt concern for her crush, knowing that Mizuki would be a tough person to beat on his own. "Y-You shouldn't go alone!"

"She's right. Mizuki's a chuunin and he was our sensei. You may be a ninja now, but he on paper should be able to defeat you easily if you fought on your own." Shikamaru added, trying to convince his plan to go through with a different plan.

"Well...yeah, true I guess. I guess I could ask the Old Man if he has anyone willing to assist me. But I personally want to take down the guy, so hopefully they won't interfere too much!" The Jinchuuriki informed them.

"W-Why not let us help?" The Hyuga heiress asked.

"Eh?" Naruto focused all of his attention on Hinata. The idea actually surprised him, especially coming from Hinata, who was the kind of person who would want to avoid conflict if possible

Hinata blushed a little at having her crush's attention so focused directly on her. Her words failed to come out and her ramen bowl seemed to be more interesting than staring back at Naruto. After a few seconds, she took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and spoke up again.

"Mizuki-Sensei may be a chuunin, b-but if we all f-fought him together, we c-could take him out ourselves. We would just need to use t-teamwork." She explained her thoughts. "Please Naruto-Kun, d-don't fight him by yourself! W-We can help you in case y-you need it!"

Naruto continued to stare at his friend in surprise. He knew that she probably did not like the idea of fighting, especially someone who was their academy teacher, but she was still offering to help him. She was willing to help him fight to make sure he would be okay. Eventually, Naruto stopped staring and simply gave her a large smile.

"Thank you Hinata. Sure, you can tag along. We can take down him together with no problem!" He told her.

Hinata smiled back in response, her blush getting a little darker due to Naruto's tone of voice and his smile. She could tell he was very happy by her suggestion, which in turn made her happy. She was indeed nervous to have to fight their academy teacher, like they thought they would, but she was willing to do it to help out Naruto.

"Naruto, you realize she said 'we' right? That would also include me as well." Shikamaru pointed out, finally speaking up as he put his bowl of ramen to the side.

Naruto turned to his other friend and gave the same smile to Shikamaru. This one, though, was a little more like a smirk.

"Sure it's not too troublesome for you Shikamaru?" The boy teased.

"It is, trust me. But Hinata is right. Wouldn't want to see you guys getting hurt or something. Teaming up would be the best option." He responded back.

"You're right. And together, we will kick his ass and bring him over to the Hokage in no time dattebayo!" Naruto shouted excitedly.

"Speaking of the Hokage, we should really discuss this with him first though, like you said originally. Remember?" The Nara questioned.

"Ah!" The blonde genin nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Well, we can't waste any time! We have to hurry and talk with him, cause it's going to get closer to time for me to meet up with that lying sensei!"

The three new graduates paid for their meal, thanked Teuchi, and hurried over to the Hokage tower, ready to talk to the Hokage about their plan.

* * *

Despite his polite, friendly, and joking mask, Mizuki was a rather serious and humorless person. Nevertheless, he couldn't help give a real chuckle as he thought back to his plan.

_'In the end, it really didn't matter if the brat passed or not. I still convinced him to steal the scroll for me! Now, to collect my prize!'_ Mizuki thought happily in between his laughter.

The chuunin would be lying if he didn't think in the back of his head that Naruto could possibly have not gone through with the plan. He was hoping to capitalize on Naruto's desperation to become a genin to make him go against any better judgment. Mizuki was relieved to hear the boy still stupidly believed his lie about promoting him to a chuunin. Everything was going according to plan. All that was left to do was meet up with Naruto, take the scroll from him, possibly kill him, and head off to Otogakure.

Mizuki continued to move through the forests around Konoha, searching for the clearing he told the boy earlier. After a few minutes of searching, the white-haired chuunin found him there, holding a large scroll.

"Hey! Naruto!" Mizuki shouted to him, making himself visible to the boy. "You really did. You got the scroll. I knew you would be able to do it!"

"Heh, what can I say? I'm going to be Hokage after all dattebayo! And now I'm one step closer to getting there!" Naruto informed with a large grin.

If Mizuki wasn't in such a good mood over his plan's 'success', he may have noticed that the boy's grin was fake. This could possibly have made him more cautious. Nevertheless, he never noticed.

"Very good Naruto! Now, hand over the scroll to me. I can test you on one of the jutsus then." The chuunin requested, holding out his hand.

"No need for that sensei! Watch this: Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as he made his new favorite hand sign.

Three shadow clones appeared in a poof of smoke standing right behind Naruto.

"This is crazy, I know, but the Shadow Clone Jutsu was actually one of the jutsu in the scroll. So technically, I already passed the second test when I did the first one! Pretty awesome, eh sensei?" Naruto informed the man in front of him.

Mizuki blinked, trying to hide his anger. There were only rumors about what jutsu were actually in the Scroll of Seals. Apparently the one complex jutsu Naruto happened to be in there. This made it more difficult to get the scroll from him.

"I...I see. That's pretty awesome indeed." Mizuki replied, making even more effort to keep his polite, 'sensei' mask up. He then crafted another possible reason to need the scroll and started to say it. "Naruto, you still need to give me the scroll though. It's a little too much of a coincidence that the scroll just so happens to have the Shadow Clone Jutsu in it. Let me check it to make sure!"

"Sure thing Mizuki-Sensei! I'll show you when we get back to Konoha, though." Naruto responded. "It's getting kind of late and any longer and the Hokage might actually start to need his scroll back!"

Mizuki's mouth almost dropped. The boy had a response even to that as well. The chuunin was now starting to get even more angry and impatient. Finally, after a few seconds of awkward silence, he dropped his mask and raised a fuuma shuriken that was attached to his back.

"Naruto! Just hand over the scroll to me now!" The white-haired man shouted.

Naruto nearly smirked, finally having confirmation that his 'sensei' was a traitor. Still, he put on the mask of a scared, nervous kid who was tricked.

"W-What are you doing Mizuki-Sensei? Let's just go back to Konoha and I'll show you the scroll there." Naruto mumbled out quietly in fake nerves.

"You don't get it, do you Naruto? Well, let me spell it out to you. There is no second graduation exam! You just helped me steal the scroll, and now you are going to die if you don't hand it over to me right now!" The traitor informs the boy.

In another moment of impatience, Mizuki chucks his fuuma shuriken at Naruto, not even waiting to see if he will hand over the scroll. _'Say goodbye demon!'_

To his surprise, the scared, nervous Naruto quickly calms down and jumps out of the way of the giant shuriken. He then tosses his own small shuriken right towards the chuunin.

_'Damn it! He should've been too shocked and scared to react! What the hell?'_ Mizuki groaned as he jumped out of the way in time to avoid Naruto's shuriken.

Once again to the chuunin's surprise, more shuriken flew at him at different angles from the forest. He was _definitely _not expecting this. The white-haired man jumped out as quickly as he could but managed to still get hit by one shuriken in his side. He winced in pain for a second, his eyes getting filled with more anger.

_'Where the hell did those come from? He brought company it seems. Damn him!'_ Mizuki cursed mentally.

"Who else did you bring out here with you brat?" He hissed aloud.

"Just a few friends that were looking forward to kicking your ass with me!" Naruto replied with a smirk.

On cue with his words, Hinata and Shikamaru came out of hiding. They jumped down from their positions in nearby trees and landed side by side to Naruto. Hinata landed with her byakugan activated while Shikamaru looked noticeably focused.

"...so that's it huh?" The traitor mumbled in anger. "So, you've been playing with me haven't you? This all some game to you? This is how you treat someone who said they'd promote you?"

"Just drop it Mizuki!" Naruto shouted back, dropping the 'sensei' title. "There was something fishy with your offer and you even admitted that you had no intention of promoting me. This was a set up for me, so I'm just turning the tables on you! And I have some backup with me to make sure you get rightfully taken down!"

Despite his growing anger, Mizuki tried to calm himself down. He knew he had to find a way to defeat the three students. Although they were genin, the three were actually rather impressive in some way. Together, they would also be a major challenge to beat. Mizuki knew he had to separate them quickly if he wanted to get away from them.

_'Separate them...like maybe through some facts about the demon!'_ The traitor smirked.

"They wouldn't be helping you, though, if they knew the truth about you, you demon!" Mizuki shouted towards the three.

"Truth?" Naruto mumbled in response. "What are you talking about?"

"The reason why everyone hates you of course! No one your age knows the truth, since the Sandaime made the law thirteen years ago. You don't even know! But if you all did know..." The chuunin couldn't stop himself from laughing, just imagining the reactions to the 'truth'.

_'Law? What law? What could he possibly know that would turn us against_ Naruto-Kun?' Hinata thought to herself. She couldn't help but glare at Mizuki as she tried to understand his words.

_'He's trying to psych Naruto out. Get him distracted or disturbed and somehow turn myself and Hinata against him. But how?'_ Shikamaru's brain was working hard. He was trying to process the traitor's words while also being prepared to to strike against him if necessary.

Unlike his two friends, Naruto ended up dropping his guard. He couldn't help himself. Despite Mizuki trying to set him up for stealing, he was offering information that the boy always wondered about.

"Why I'm hated? What are you talking about? What law?" He asked uncertainly. His voice was actually a little shaky. He was both anxious and worried to find out exactly why he was hated.

"The law prevents anyone from telling your generation that you are the Kyuubi, the demon that attacked Konoha years ago!"

Time seemed to stop when Mizuki's words left his mouth. Hinata's and Shikamaru's eyes widened in pure shock. Naruto merely stood still, completely stunned.

"You've all been liked to you all your life! The Yondaime couldn't kill that damn fox. The thing was too powerful for him, so he sealed into a newborn baby to stop it. That baby was you Naruto! It's why everyone hates you!" Mizuki continues to rant. "You destroyed many parts, houses, and buildings of Konoha. Many civilians and shinobi died because of you. Many kids, including your sensei Iruka, grew up as orphans because you killed their parents. You are the reason the Yondaime is dead. Everything that happened that night is your fault, you damn demon!"

Naruto continued to stand frozen in time, still in complete shock.

_'..no...it can't be true. But...it makes sense...but...no...no...'_ Naruto's mind was working in overdrive.

_'...it's not some lie. It makes sense. It matches everything! Everything makes sense!'_ Shikamaru realized. _'It explains his freakishly large stamina...'_

_'...it helps explains Naruto-Kun's insane amount of chakra...'_ Hinata realized as well, thinking on the same wavelength as her other friend.

_'...Why he gets singled out by the teachers and glared at...'_

_'...why he grew up alone...'  
_

_'...why he is hated.'_ The two kids reached the same conclusion.

The two kids turned their heads toward Naruto and stared at him for a second. Any fear or ill feelings that could have been within the two were completely eliminated the second they looked at him.

_'Naruto-Kun...you were treated so badly by the people around you and you had to deal with the fox within you...and you still wanted to be Hokage? You still wanted to fight and defend these people? To earn their respect? Naruto-Kun...you are truly amazing._" Hinata felt new feelings for her crush come about. She felt even more pride in him, more awe by his kindness and strength, and something more...something she didn't know how to describe.

_'He should hate everyone in Konoha for everything they've done to him. And he doesn't. As a matter of fact, he actually wants to change their minds. Naruto...you are one of a kind.'_ Shikamaru noted with a slight smirk.

Naruto didn't take the news in anyway like his friends. The boy continued to stand completely still.

_'They...they really do deserve to hate me. Everything's my fault. I'm just...a monster...'_ He reached his conclusion.

"Now that the truth is out, I'm sure you all won't mind when I remove this monster from the world! Goodnight demon!" Mizuki shouted as he took his second fuuma shuriken and tossed it at Naruto.

The Uzumaki boy continued to stand still; still in shock. His friends, however, were able to move. Shikamaru used his Shadow Possession Jutsu to take control of Naruto's body. He then forced the boy to jump out of the way of the shuriken. Hinata jumped right in front of them, holding a kunai and ready to deflect any shuriken Mizuki could throw at them.

"Why are you helping him? Didn't you hear me? He's the damn demon who nearly destroyed the village! He killed many of your clansmen!" Mizuki shouted to them, still trying to turn them.

"You said the demon was sealed within him. That doesn't make him a demon; only a container at most. He's not the Kyuubi!" Shikamaru spoke up, louder and more defiant than he had ever previously spoken.

_'...Shikamaru...'_ Naruto looked over to his lazy friend in awe. His friend was smart and Naruto could trust his word. _'...I'm not the demon? You really think so?'_

"If anything, he's a hero to the village! He keeps the demon locked within him. Naruto-Kun is the furthest thing from the Kyuubi! He's our savior who keeps it from attacking us!" Hinata shouted back in an out of character way. She didn't stutter and her voice matched Shikamaru's loudness.

_'...Hinata...'_ It was her turn to be the subject of Naruto's awe. He had never seen such determination in her before. _'...there's now way she could ever be wrong. Not when she acts and speaks like that...Hinata...'_

"So naive. Don't think too much into this: he's the demon! And it would be wise to get away from him before you get hurt while I kill him!" Mizuki informed them.

_'...hurt them? Hurt Shikamaru and Hinata?'_ Naruto's mind went out of its shock. His eyes flared in anger and determination.

"Don't you dare come close to them!" The boy hissed at his 'sensei'. "They are precious to me, and I'll do anything I can to protect them!"

Hinata and Shikamaru looked back to Naruto and gave a warm smile towards him. They then turned back to Mizuki, ready to strike. The traitor realized any hopes to separate them and turn them against the boy were not going to work. He was going to have to kill them as well.

"Tch, whatever. You're all dead!" Mizuki roared as he tossed smaller shuriken at the academy graduates.

Mizuki blinked when he saw what exactly his shuriken hit, though. Instead of the three individual genin, the shuriken made contact with the three shadow clones Naruto made earlier. In seconds, all three clones disappeared in a poof of smoke. All three genin were nowhere to be seen.

_'They used substitution with the clones the demon made earlier, back when he was showing me the scroll...'_ He noted. The academy instructor inside him was actually a little impressed with the skilled use of the jutsu and the quick, unnoticeable exchange. He, however, was also pissed that they managed this trick on him.

"Hide well brats, cause I'm going to find you guys! I'll kill you all!" He shouted.

Mizuki made the necessary hand signs before turning his attention to the forest around him. "Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!" He shouted before launching fireballs into the forest.

Nearby trees caught on fire. Some trees were completely burnt in seconds while others collapsed from the damage. Mizuki watched as he cleared the area around him, looking for the first sign of one of the genin.

He didn't have to wait too long. A group of twenty Narutos shot out and charged directly at the chuunin.

"More shadow clones? Is it seriously all you can do? You're screwed, demon brat!" The traitor taunted as he dropped into his personal taijutsu stance.

All Naruto clones attempted to assault the chuunin at once. He immediately went on the defensive, blocking them to the best of his abilities. Mizuki was able to avoid too many direct hits while striking back. He was able to destroy six of the clones after a few blows.

The Konoha traitor noticed that one of the clones was not disappearing. It would keep getting up after each hit and would charge back, ready to strike with its palms. _'Guess that's the original demon. Weird fighting style for him, but whatever. It's not helping him any!'_ Mizuki thought with a smirk.

The assault by the clones continued. As time passed, Mizuki was getting more physically tired. He started to take a few more hits than usual from the clones, including the Naruto that was striking him with his palms. Despite his weakening state, Mizuki was able to bring down the number of clones to six. It was at this point that the chuunin noticed something very wrong with himself.

_'What is happening to my chakra? Why can't I use it? I haven't used any since my fire jutsu! The demon shouldn't be able to do this!'_ Mizuki groaned on the inside. He was getting slightly nervous at this new development. Then, an idea hit him of what was happening. _'Then...that means...'_

Before Mizuki could continue his train of thought, he found himself completely immobilized. He couldn't move, no matter how hard he tried or struggled.

"Caught you!"

The chuunin found his head turning around on its own accord. He saw his shadow mixed with the shadow of one of the Naruto clones. At this moment, the clone dropped its transformation, revealing a smirking Shikamaru.

"You..." The traitor hissed.

"Didn't notice me did you? Or Hinata I'm guessing?" The Nara asked as he turned his head, forcing Mizuki to turn his head as well. They were now facing the Naruto that Mizuki originally thought was the original. This Naruto dropped the transformation and revealed itself as Hinata.

"You knew that Naruto was skilled with the Shadow Clone Jutsu, so you assumed that all twenty 'clones' of Naruto were simply clones. It never occurred to you that two of those clones could have been Hinata and myself under the Transformation Jutsu." Shikamaru explained the tactic to the traitor. "Therefore, you failed to notice that Hinata, under the guise of one of the clones, was sealing your tenketsu, and therefore sealing your chakra, with the gentle fist with each attack. You also never watched the shadows, since I was 'nowhere to be seen'. Because of that, you are caught in my Shadow Possession Jutsu, and you have so little useable chakra that you can't break through."

"Damn you...damn you all!" He hissed once again.

"You tried to mess with me, and then mess with my friends as well. I don't appreciate it!" Naruto stated as he walked forward, his remaining clones following close behind. They all cracked their knuckles simultaneously. "Time to show you what happens when you try and mess with us dattebayo!"

Mizuki's screams could be heard for miles throughout the forest.

* * *

"Um...hehehe...I might have gotten a little carried away?" Naruto laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Mizuki was lying face down on the floor of the forest, unconscious in a small pile of blood. Naruto and his clones beat down on the traitor hard. The man, while still alive, would not be waking up anytime soon. He would wake up in a few hours later probably, locked up in a cell or in a room alone with Ibiki. Mizuki, if he was conscious, would be praying for the former.

"You might have, but it was worth it. Deserved to." Shikamaru shrugged. With the situation over, he was back to his less focused, lazy demeanor.

"R-Right..." Hinata added as well, making sure she was looking away from the traitor. The sight of him and his blood was making the Hyuga heiress a tad queasy.

"He did deserve it! After everything he did, from trying to steal the scroll to threatening you guys, he definitely did!" Naruto stated firmly.

Their was a silence that filled the air. Hinata and Shikamaru stared at their friend, who seemed as if he was trying to come up with some words. Finally, he was able to let them off.

"Guys...um...about what Mizuki told us..." Naruto started. He was nervous and uncomfortable, something very unusual for the boy. His two friends couldn't help but feel uncomfortable seeing him like this.

"Naruto, if you think we are going to think any differently of you just because of the Kyuubi, then you are stupid enough that you should've been the dead last." Shikamaru told the boy bluntly. Naruto, despite his feelings, couldn't help but glare at the boy. "Look, we aren't stupid. We know you aren't the Kyuubi. You are just the container, and there is a major difference. You are definitely not a demon! You are way too troublesome, but also too nice to be one."

"Shikamaru-Kun's right. And what I said earlier was true as well. You are the savior of Konoha, who keeps it back. If anything, Naruto-Kun, knowing about it only makes me respect you more..." Hinata told, slightly blushing. Just like previously, she was able to say her thoughts without stuttering due to the subconscious need to let Naruto know what she felt.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He felt tears starting to fall from his eyes. He had finally found out the reason why everyone hated him and it was overwhelming to him. He, himself, was starting to accept the demon label until his two friends spoke up for him. _Just like before..._

His fears of being rejected by them were gone. Naruto almost didn't care if he ever earned the respect of the village or not right now. For right now, all that mattered was that he had two friends who he would protect with his life: two friends who knew why he was hated and didn't think anything different of him.

"Hinata-Chan...Shikamaru...thank you!" Naruto nearly shouted amongst tears as he charged forth and tackled his friends in a hug.

Under normal circumstances, Hinata would have flipped out that Naruto had called her 'Hinata-Chan' and would be blushing beyond red at the physical contact. She probably would have passed out. Under normal circumstances, Shikamaru would be complaining that he was having trouble breathing in Naruto's hold. He would struggle to get out and complain about his friend being 'troublesome'.

These were not normal circumstances, however. The two simply returned their friend's hug, giving him a warm smile.

It's almost ironic. Mizuki's attempts to divide the group apart ended up bringing them closer to each other than ever before...

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but smile as he stared into his crystal ball. After Naruto and his friends came in and told about Mizuki's plan, he had kept careful observation of the three. He had felt some wariness with allowing three newly graduated students from the academy to take on a traitorous chuunin shinobi, but he felt more confidence that they could handle it. Something within him told him that the three would be fine. Just like he predicted, the kids were fine. They were now heading towards Konoha, holding onto Mizuki and heading to hand him over to anbu to do place somewhere. Most likely with Ibiki. The kids succeeded in their mission.

_'More than just succeeded.'_ Hiruzen noted with a chuckle. The three genin demonstrated great teamwork with each other. Hinata and Shikamaru went out of their way to save Naruto's life and the three were able to overwhelm Mizuki with great teamwork, such as the strategy utilzed with Naruto's clones and Hinata's and Shikamaru's transformations. They complimented each other well and were able to take down a ninja with more skill than them.

The Sandaime was also pleased when he realized that Hinata and Shikamaru didn't treat Naruto differently when Mizuki revealed the news of the Kyuubi. Sarutobi, although a rather smart man with great foresight, failed to predict that Mizuki would reveal the information about the demon to the kids in desperation. For a few seconds, the old man was rather nervous and was tempted to head out there himself to end the man's life before any damage was done. Thankfully, Hinata and Shikamaru took the news very well and actually praised Naruto for being able to be the container. They helped Naruto handle the information as well and not let him get overwhelmed by it.

_'They truly went above any expectations. They were perfect. They worked well together...'_ Hiruzen noted with a smile. At the moment, something clicked in his head.

_'...they really should be a genin team. The three of them together.'_

Truth be told, Sarutobi Hiruzen had already designed the genin squads. None of the three kids were going to be placed on the same squad, as Naruto would be with Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke under Kakashi as an assault team, Hinata would be on a tracking team under Kurenai, and Shikamaru would be with the other children of the Ino-Shika-Chou trio under his son Asuma. The aged Hokage thought the team assessments were wise decisions but after seeing the teamwork performed by the three students, he was really second guessing himself.

_'...teamwork like that is so rare to find in kids so young. It could only get better and stronger as they grow older. I can't separate them...'_ Hiruzen thought.

The Sandaime sighed. It would mean more paperwork. It would maybe take a little while to explain to anyone who already knew his original plans. Nevertheless, he knew something now and he was going to go by it: Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru had great teamwork together and needed to be on the same team.

_'...great, now I have to think of a sensei for them too.'_ Hiruzen realized with a frown as well. _'More work...why did I take this job again?'_

Hiruzen started making notes of the Jonin available to be a sensei. Kakashi would probably be an excellent choice, due to his love for teamwork. However, the Hokage, as well as the council, felt that Kakashi should train Sasuke in order to work with the sharingan once it becomes activated. Asuma and Kurenai would also be perfect senseis for Shikamaru and Hinata respectively, but not for the other. Asuma's bluntness and his overall behavior would probably intimidate Hinata while Kurenai would not have the patience to effectively train Shikamaru.

_'...well I guess none of those three. Well, who is left?'_ The Hokage thought to himself.

At that moment, a knock on the door disturbed the aged man from his thoughts. He turned his attention to it and spoke up. "Yes?"

"Hokage-Sama, sorry for coming so late at night! I have just returned from my mission and I know you wanted my mission report immediately!" Said the voice from the other side.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened when he realized who had arrived. An idea started to form into the aged man's mind. An idea that he played over multiple times to make sure how it would work. He couldn't help but give a smirk at it.

_'It's perfect. Every scenario I come up with works perfectly with it. It's official. I have a sensei now!'_ Hiruzen chuckled to himself before he turned back to the door and spoke aloud again. "Yes, please come again. We will discuss your mission report now. Also, I have something else I would like to discuss with you!"

The door opened...

* * *

**"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?"**_  
_

A loud scream awakened many people living in Konoha. Anyone with good ears could piece out that the scream came from the Hokage's tower. All of them had to wonder though: who could have caused such a scream and why were they screaming?

* * *

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry for the small wait on this chapter! Funny, I just declare that I would do weekly updates. Then I end up being late by a little more than a week :( I blame college! Which, on a side note, I'm loving :D

Hope the long chapter made up for the wait though :) They're shinobi now! Now, things will be getting fun kind of soon! We shall see...:D

Thank you all once again for all the support! It's amazing how many people like the story so far! Thank you all so very much! :) Please continue to read (and review if you have time!) Remember to let me know any questions or concerns with anything. I'll try and address it to the best of my abilities, and it can only make me a better writer and the story even better. It's a win-win for all of us :D

Anyway, it's really late right now, so I'll end this here. I'll see you guys as soon at the next update! Until then :)


	5. Team Formation

**Disclaimer: I wish I had something witty to write in this disclaimer other than I don't own Naruto. I don't have anything to say though :(**

**Author's Note:** A few days behind schedule, but not too bad of a wait I hope! I hope the chapter was worth it! :)

I also would like to point out something: the Konohamaru part of the story was skipped, considering in my story's universe, it happened exactly as it did in canon. So no need to rewrite it :)

Now...no more waiting! Let's begin! Hope you enjoy :D

* * *

"From this day forward, you are all genin of Konoha. As one of your academy teachers, I just want to let you all know how proud I am of you." Iruka admitted to the class with a smile on his face. "You've all done excellent in your studies and training. I believe with all my heart that this may be one of the finest classes Konoha has ever produced, and I can't wait to see what extraordinary shinobi you all become!"

Nearly every student in the classroom smiled at their now-former sensei's words. Naruto was grinning more than anyone else, however.

_'Finally...I really am a ninja now! Finally!'_ He thought to himself excitedly.

"Now, I'm going to start reading off the team names! Pay attention carefully, cause I will _not_ repeat!" Iruka informed everyone. "Now...Team One..."

Everyone tried hard to pay attention to Iruka's words. It proved too difficult, however, to listen to every name that was called. Everyone seemed to only notice when their name was called or when their friends were called.

"...now Team Three!" Iruka continued reading. "Uzumaki Naruto..."

Naruto lifted up his head and started to pay attention.

"...Hyuga Hinata..." The chuunin continued.

_'Yes!'_ Naruto cheered inwardly, grinning even larger. _'I at least got one of my friends on my team. And it's Hinata of all people! This is amazing dattebayo!'_

Hinata's thoughts were less coherent, but even more excited. 'Naruto-Kun_ and I are on the same team? Naruto-Kun and I are on the same team! HE'S ON MY TEAM!'_ Her mind repeated the same words over and over again, each time getting faster and louder. Her thoughts were a strong contrast to her outward reaction, which was merely a silent, but large, smile and a rather red blush.

"...and Nara Shikamaru!" Iruka concluded.

"HELL YEAH!" Naruto couldn't hold in his thoughts any longer. "The top three shinobi here! We are so going to kick ass!"

"Naruto-baka, shut up! Some of us are trying to concentrate here!" Sakura shouted, not trying to hide her annoyance.

Naruto really didn't care that she insulted him: he was just too happy. He was on a team with Hinata AND Shikamaru. This was everything he had hoped for! _'We really are going to be the best damn team in Konoha dattebayo!'_

Hinata, too, was pleased at this revelation. Although she was still more excited about being partnered up with Naruto, she really did like Shikamaru. He became a great and important friend to her and their friendship was growing each day. She was excited to know that he would be joining her and Naruto on the same team.

Shikamaru, although pleased, was very shocked at the team's reveal. _'I could have sworn they would have put me on a team with Chouji and Ino. Our parents' teamwork was legendary and our parents even mentioned talking to Hokage-Sama about purposely recreating the team through us! Not that I'm going to complain: I work well with Naruto and Hinata! Just wondering, what could have changed his mind...'_

When the classroom got quiet again, Iruka continued reading names. Naruto failed to pay attention until his sensei got to Team Seven.

"Team Seven: Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke!" He read off.

Sakura's scream of joy could have been heard a mile from the academy. Ino's roar in disapproval could be heard just as far.

"The prick and the fangirl? Just my frickin luck!" Kiba groaned loudly.

Once again, Iruka waited for class to quiet down before he continued to read. Naruto, once again, failed to pay attention to his names. He only paid attention to the last team Iruka read off.

"Team Ten: Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Couji, and Aburame Shino!" Iruka concluded.

"What the hell? Not only am I not with Sasuke-Kun, but I'm put with food boy and bug boy?" Ino complained loudly. She couldn't believe that these team assignments happened.

"Chouji..." Shikamaru mumbled sadly, turning to face his best friend sitting next to him.

Chouji gave his friend a sad smile. He was happy that Shikamaru got to be on a team with their other friends, but Chouji was a little upset he didn't get to be with him. He was also saddened that he didn't get to be with anyone he considered a friend with as well. It also hurt that Ino was complaining about being on the same team with him.

"I'm s-sorry Chouji-Kun..." Hinata apologized to him, noticing his discomfort.

"Yeah...I really wish we could be a four-man squad." Naruto added, frowning as well. He was originally so happy about his team, but he felt bad now knowing that Chouji was left out and on a team that he wasn't going to like.

"No, it's okay." Chouji told them all. He stayed quiet for a second before coming up with a silver lining. "You know, Shino's kind of quiet. He might be really nice when I get him to talk."

"He probably is! Maybe you can get him to join our group!" Naruto declared, his frown turning upwards. Chouji was right, in his mind. Shino could be a pretty cool guy, and it would be nice to have another friend to hang with.

"Shino-San is p-polite." Hinata told him.

"And smart! He probably rivals you Shikamaru!" The blonde added, taunting his friend.

The Nara shrugged in response before turning his attention back to Chouji.

"You want to meet up after all of this? Cloud watching or something?" He asked.

Chouji's smile turned more genuine again. He knew that being separated from his friends wasn't going to end their friendship. Shikamaru's offer reminded him of that. The Akimichi heir nodded in response, accepting his friend's invitation.

Iruka, after a verbal spar with Ino, quieted down the classroom with a cough.

"Well, now that you all know your teams, you are free to take an hour break for lunch. You will come back here to meet up with your Jonin Sensei. You are dismissed for now!" Iruka informed the students.

All of the academy graduates nodded in response to their sensei's words. They all immediately got up and started to walk out of the room.

"Don't leave just yet you little brats!" A voice called out to them.

All students turned around and faced the front. They turned around in time to see a black banner fly through one of the academy windows. When the banner reached the center of the room, a figure jumped out and threw kunai at its edges, pinning it to the floor and the ceiling. The entire banner could now be seen, and the words "The Sexiest and Strongest Sensei in all of Konoha" could be read on it.

In front of the banner was the figure. She was a purple-haired woman who tied her hair up in a spiky ponytail. She was wearing a large tan coat over a fishnet undershirt and an orange skirt. She also had a pendant worn around her neck and was also wearing shin guards.

"You're all looking at the sensei to Team Three, Mitarashi Anko!" The woman introduced herself to everyone, a large, almost insane grin on her face. "Now, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Hinata, and Nara Shikamaru! Come here! We will begin our meeting and discuss protocol. Let's go!"

The room fell into a deathly silence. Pretty much every student was gawking at the woman standing in front of them in surprise, annoyance, or fear.

Hinata couldn't help but fall in the last category. _'She's...she's very confident...and intimidating...and...oh boy...'_

Naruto looked at the woman, unsure of what to think. _'She seems kind of weird. And annoying! But she's kind of cool and awesome I guess.'_ Naruto continued to wrestle down between the two ideas of the woman before he finally settled on one. _'Guess she is pretty cool. That was a flashy entrance dattebayo! I'd probably do something like that if I had a genin team!'_

Shikamaru's thoughts were extremely simple compared to the others. _'This woman...troublesome. Very, very, very troublesome...'_

"Um...Anko-San? You do realize that the genin are allowed a lunch break of an hour right? The meeting with their sensei isn't till that is over..." Iruka mentioned nervously.

The purple-haired woman immediately sweat dropped in response to Iruka's words.

"Er...well...I decided I was going to take my kids out to lunch instead! It would kill two birds with one stone: their lunch break and our meeting! And it would be a good way to get to know them. So yeah...heh..." She laughed nervously.

Iruka sweat dropped as well in response to her statement.

"...very well." He told her. "Team Three, you will go to lunch with your sensei. Everyone else, meet up here in an hour!"

"Awesome!" Anko cheered, relieved that she was off the hook for arriving early. "Now, come here brats. Lunch is waiting!"

The woman immediately ran out of the room, hurrying outside. Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru followed closely behind. The Uzumaki was excited at the offer of a free lunch and was excited that his sensei seemed 'awesome'. The Hyuga heiress still felt nervous and intimidated by her sensei. And the Nara heir...

"...this is going to be an extremely troublesome time..." Shikamaru sighed, already feeling the headache forming.

* * *

Mitarashi Anko dragged her new genin squad to Dangoya, a dango and sweets restaurant located near the academy. The second the four walked into the restaurant, a waiter escorted them to a spot that was 'reserved' for Anko and any company she brings to the restaurant. After he took the orders of Anko and her squad, the four were left alone.

The three genin were staring at their sensei in silence, waiting for her to begin the conversation about the team. Anko didn't notice the attention of her students, however. Her mind was too focused on the scent of the dango shop around her.

_'Mm...I love the smell of dango in the afternoon!'_ Anko thought, slight drool coming out of her mouth.

"...um...sensei?" Naruto finally broke the silence.

"What? What do you want brat?" The woman snapped at him.

"...shouldn't you be going over team protocol and stuff now? I mean, that's what you said we'd be doing." Shikamaru pointed out to her with a yawn.

"I should be..." Anko thought to herself with a sigh. "...fine, let's begin already! Let's get this over with before our food gets out!"

The three genin nodded at her words, still staring at their sensei.

"So, let's start with introducing ourselves to each other." Anko stated excitedly.

"...we already know each other. Very well I might add." Shikamaru told her with a shrug.

"But I don't know you guys, smart ass!" The purple-haired woman rolled her eyes in response. "Introduce yourselves to me then! Tell me about yourselves."

"W-What do you want to know s-sensei?" Hinata asked nervously. She was still intimidated by her new sensei.

"Your life story. Every detail. Don't lie to me about anything in it." She deadpanned in response, getting into the heiress's face.

Hinata's eyes widened in surprise and let out a quiet 'eep'. Anko heard the noise and started to laugh loudly.

"No need to freak out or anything. Just messing with ya!" She laughed. "How about this: tell me your name, things you like and dislike, hobbies, dreams...that kind of stuff. Just your basic shit. Why not you go first?"

"Um...o-okay..." Hinata replied back, pointing her index fingers together.

"Um...m-my name is H-Hyuga Hinata. I l-like spending t-time with my friends. And...um..." Hinata started. At this point, she grew a slight blush and turned her head slightly in Naruto's general direction. "Um...I also l-like cinnamon rolls. I dislike p-people who are r-rude to others and s-some of my clan's traditions. My hobbies are t-training and s-spending time with my friends and f-flower pressing. My dream...I w-wouldn't mind having a family o-one day..." Hinata's blush grew exponentially at this comment as she took another look at Naruto. A few seconds after, her blush died down completely and her eyes gained more focus. "...but before that, I-I want to be a s-strong clan head and ninja t-that can f-fix the problems in the H-Hyuga Clan."

_'Hmm...she's totally crushing on the Jinchuuriki. But she seems to still be a capable kunoichi from her dream and stuff. Thank God she's not a fangirl!'_ Anko silently praised. _'Hmm...but she is different than most Hyuga members though. She has like zero confidence what so ever! That'll need to get fixed asap if she wants to achieve her goal..."_

"Well, thanks a lot Stutters-Chan!" Anko told her with a smile.

"S-Stutters-Chan?" Hinata repeated the name.

"You were stuttering really badly, so that's what I'm going to call you from now on until you don't stutter." She explained, her smile not faltering.

"Hey! Don't make fun of Hinata-Chan! She's just probably intimidated by how weird you are!" Naruto shouted at the woman, defending his friend.

"Ah, be quiet Whiskers!" Anko shrugged. "...on second thought, keep talking. It's your turn!"

"Whiskers?" Naruto repeated with a scowl. "Don't you know our names?"

"I do, but I like giving nicknames, especially to little bratty genin who don't follow orders." She replied with a smirk. "So, your turn Whiskers."

Naruto scowled once again, but decided to just get his intro out of the way. "My name's Uzumaki Naruto! I like spending time with my friends, training with the Nara clan, and learning new jutsu. I also like ramen, especially miso ramen! I hate the time it takes for ramen to cool down and arrogant bastards who think they are better than everyone else like Sasuke-Teme. My hobbies are training, pranking people, and gardening. And my dream is to become the greatest Hokage! That way I can earn the people's respect in this village and not be looked down on like I'm something else..."

_'Earn the people's respect? Looked down as something else? Eh...'_ Anko frowned as she remained in thought. She felt she could understand and relate to the boy. If she were to be completely honest, she might even say that he reminds her of himself to an extent. _'...I'll probably have a one-on-one conversation with him at some point about some things if I end up becoming his sensei...'_

"...thanks." Anko replied after shaking herself from her thoughts. She then turned to the final kid. "Now you."

Shikamaru sighed in complaint, giving no response.

"...say something about yourself for my sake. Seriously!" Anko shouted at him.

"...troublesome." The boy finally mumbled, giving another sigh. "Name's Nara Shikamaru. I like being with my friends and doing things that don't require much effort. I don't like doing most things and things I find really troublesome. Hobbies are cloud watching, star gazing, playing shogi, and sleeping. My dream is to become an average ninja and have a wife that's neither pretty nor ugly and have two kids, a daughter and a son. I'll retire when my children become successful shinobi of their own and live the rest of my days playing shogi and watching clouds until the day I die, before my wife."

Anko stared at the boy in shock. She stayed in silent thought for a few seconds before her eyes narrowed on him.

"Lazy ass." She declared.

Shikamaru, who had expected to get the same thanks that Hinata and Naruto got, was shocked by her words. "What?"

"You complained about doing this intro for me, you hate doing things with effort, and your dream is one of the most boring and average things I've ever heard! I'm calling you as I see you: a lazy ass!"

Naruto couldn't help himself from falling over in his seat in laughter. Hinata barely stifled her giggles. Shikamaru only shrugged in response, mumbling something about a 'troublesome woman'.

"Well, since you all introduced yourselves, it's only fair I do the same. Listen well brats!" Anko started. "I'm Mitarashi Anko, a tokubetsu jonin, the second in command in the Torture and Investigation Department, and your sensei. I like dango, tea, traveling, training, and working at the T&I Department! I dislike spicy foods and the 'fangirl' kunoichi who give kunoich a bad namei. I also hate a certain snake I've met in my life. My hobbies include hosting tea ceremonies, training my ass off, and torturing. And my dream...well, I have three actually. First is to kill that snake I mentioned. Second is to make sure I can keep my friends safe and protected. And third is just simply enjoy life!"

All three of the genin stared at their sensei. They all seemed to have different reactions to the parts in her introduction. They were curious about this 'snake' and who he was. They thought she was pretty thoughtful with her other two dreams.

...they were also terrified that she admitted that torturing was one of her hobbies and that she was technically a professional in the art.

"Well, now that we know each other, let's get straight to the business part." The purple-haired woman broke them out of their thoughts. All three started to pay attention to her again. "Now...I hate do this to you guys, but I have to break it to you: you aren't genin yet."

"What!? That's a load of crap dattebayo!" Naruto shouted. "We passed the stupid test, so that makes us genin!"

"That _test_ is bullshit." She laughed in response. "It's like a 'pre-test' to make sure you guys are good enough to be genin. Eh, whatever. Basically, tomorrow you all have to take another test that has a thirty-three percent pass rate. Fail and get sent back to the academy."

All three members of Team Three had wide eyes at these words. Shikamaru was groaning about the thought of another test, Hinata was worried about failing and disappointing her father, and Naruto was scared of not being able to become a genin.

Anko seemed completely oblivious to her students' frustrations. As soon as she informed them of the second test, the waiter came back with a plate of dango. The tokubetsu jonin was currently drooling and giving nothing else a thought.

"Food's here! Yes!" She shouted in joy as the plates were put on the table. "Let's leave the test discussion until after we finish lunch!"

The purple-haired woman didn't wait for her students to respond. She immediately started to chow down on the dango on her plate. All three of her genin watched their sensei eat rapidly in shock.

_'...that's just like me with ramen!'_ Naruto noted with shock. Hinata and Shikamaru seemed to notice the comparison as well, as they looked back and forth between their sensei and their friend.

* * *

When lunch was over, Anko told the students to meet her at Training Ground Seventeen tomorrow at 8:00 for their second exam. After that, she left to go to work at the Torture and Interrogation Department.

A couple of screaming victims later, Anko was brought a bar by the head of the department, her partner in crime, and good friend Morino Ibiki. The two made an effort to go out drinking once a week after work and both felt they deserved a drink or two.

"I swear, sometimes the job isn't even fun anymore. They give in way too easily!" Anko complained as she chugged down the rest of the sake in her bottle. "Remember that Mizuki guy from a day ago? Gave all the dirt on the snake bastard he was working with in twenty minutes!"

"There really has been no challenge. At least we get the information Konoha needs for it's safety." Ibiki replied, simply staring at his drink. "Although, I would like someone tougher to break."

Anko gave a smirk in response. That was one thing that bonded her and Ibiki together: the two had a slight sadistic side to them.

"So, should I be expecting to handle more cases on my own though for the time being?" The head of the department asked, still staring at his drink.

The purple-haired woman, who was currently getting another bottle of sake, turned to her partner and gave him a quizzical look. "What do you mean Ibiki?"

"I've heard you've been assigned a genin team." He informs her.

"Oh. Yeah." Anko shrugs as she chugs her new drink. "I don't know. Maybe they'll pass, maybe they won't. I'd prefer if they didn't."

"Your personal preferences don't really matter on if they pass or not." Ibiki reminded her, narrowing his eyes a little.

"I know that! I wouldn't fail the brats just cause I don't want a genin team!" She shouted, a little louder than intended. "It's just...I still don't know why Hokage-Sama assigned me a team!"

Anko thought back to the conversation she had with the Sandaime. At first, she was giving a simple mission report from a long-term mission she was on. He accepted it, but then changed the topic to the genin teams. He had informed her that he was planning on assigning her a team. Anko freaked out, stating that she would not be a good sensei to 'some random brats' and that she'd be better off spending her talents elsewhere. Nevertheless, the Hokage was very adamant about his decision. Apparently 'Only she can accurately train each and every one of these students to their full potential'.

_'Yeah. The one person that can, and will be stuck babysitting them, is me? Bullshit'_ The tokubetsu jonin thought bitterly.

"It's not like you to doubt your own abilities Anko. You seriously think you can't train them?" Her superior asked her.

"Hell no! I got the talent and skills to train anybody!" She fired back, starting to get a little irritated. "It just feels weird: I would much rather spend my time doing something more productive for Konoha. Also it's my first time as a sensei, and the only sensei I have ever had to use as a reference is _him._"

Ibiki knew exactly who his co-worker was referring to and sighed in response.

"Well, if the Hokage thinks it's a good decision, then it is. He must know more about them then you and must think you can help them become better shinobi for Konoha. Probably not a waste of time if that's right." Ibiki told her, finally taking a small sip from his bottle of sake. "You won't make a bad team sensei either. Just teach them what you know and let them do the rest. Let them become Konoha shinobi."

"You know I'm not really upset or anything, right? I don't really need comforting." Anko mumbled in response as she took another chug of sake. "Still, thanks. Appreciate it. Although it's weird to see you trying to help someone. Getting soft 'Biki-Kun?"

Ibiki scowled at the nickname and Anko's words.

"Not at all. I'm trying to get you to take the team. Perhaps if you aren't working at the department, I'll get more victims to myself and maybe I'll get one that'll be fun to break down." Ibiki informed her with a smirk.

"Heh, if that happens, I'll be joining you still. Can't leave me out of all the fun!" She responded with a laugh before picking up her bottle.

Anko downed the rest of her sake and got another bottle. She decided then and there to stop thinking about the genin team. She lied: she was frustrated about being assigned a team and was confused on what to do. Ibiki did help out a little though and she appreciated it.

_'I'll deal with them later. If they pass, they pass. Then I'll just learn and be a kickass sensei!_' Anko declared mentally as she raised her new bottle, as if toasting to her idea. _'But for now, screw them. I'm just going to enjoy my sake!'_

She enjoyed it indeed...

* * *

After waking up, Hinata got ready for the day as quickly as she possibly could. She was actually surprised that she even got any sleep at all. Her mind was completely focused on the second exam that Anko mentioned.

_'Sensei never said too much about it. Only the time and place of it. I wonder what it could be on...'_ Hinata contemplated as she finished collecting all of the weapons she may need for a test.

When Hinata finished, she was almost ready to leave. She had already gotten dressed, prepared for the day, and had eaten breakfast. All that was left was to let her father know she was going out.

It didn't take long before the Hyuga heiress left and arrived at her father's private study. As usual, Hyuga Hiashi was sitting at his desk, performing clan duties and paperwork, as if he had been doing them all night.

"Hinata." Her father greeted, not even looking up. "Do you have something thing you wish to talk about?"

_'Don't stutter, don't stutter.'_ Hinata muttered to herself as she took a deep breath. Although she was getting better, she still stuttered a lot when she was intimidated. Her father could be very intimidating...

"I...I have t-to leave now. I have a s-secondary test I need to take to be a g-genin." Hinata informed him.

"Oh yes. The second test the jonin sensei gives." The clan head noted as he looked up from his work and at his daughter. "This reminds me: you failed to tell me who your team was composed of."

"Um..." Hinata poked her index fingers together. "I'm with Nara Shikamaru and Uzumaki N-Naruto. Our s-sensei is Mitarashi Anko."

_'She's with the Nara heir and the Kyuubi vessel? Hmm...'_ Hiashi thought to himself. _'...a random match. I know Hinata has been training sometimes with them, but their skill sets shouldn't match up. It would have been better for her to be on a tracking team. What was Hokage-Sama thinking with this team? And under Mitarashi Anko? She has no experience with training.'_

"...I see." He said aloud, not voicing most of his negative thoughts.

"Our e-exam is soon. M-May I be dismissed?" Hinata asked.

"You may. Make sure to perform up to the Hyuga standards today, Hinata. Do not disappoint and fail the test." Hiashi informed her in a cold tone.

"...understood. G-Good day father." His daughter responded before leaving.

Hinata couldn't help but feel upset by her father's words. The way he said them made it seem like he doubted she would pass, that she would disappoint him and the Hyuga clan. These were doubts she had already placed on herself. While her father has let her know before of his little faith in her, hearing them again hurt badly.

She could almost feel tears starting to form in her eyes when a thought occurred to her: she was not alone in taking the test. _'Naruto-Kun and Shikamaru-Kun are taking it with me. We all need to pass to be genin! That means...I can't fail! For their sake!'_ She informed herself. Her eyes almost immediately cleared up and were filled with determination.

Was she nervous? Yes. Did she have doubts in herself? Yes. Did she doubt her teammates? No. Was she wanting to disappoint them? Not a chance! Hinata felt the determination rise within to go against her doubts and help her friends.

The Hyuga heiress hurried away from the clan compound as quickly as she could, ready to take on whatever Anko had planned for her and her friends.

* * *

Mitarashi Anko, having never had a genin team assigned before, based most of her opinions on how they worked from the complaints she heard from her acquaintances. She heard many stories of the 'genin teams from hell' that arrive ridiculously late to the training sessions and missions.

Anko had heard so many of these stories that she was legitimately surprised that her three students were at the training ground at exactly 8:00.

"Oh, lookie here. You all are on time!" Anko noted happily. "That's good. I was afraid that at least Lazy Ass would be showing up late, cause he didn't want to get out of bed this morning."

Naruto cracked up once more. Hinata didn't even try and hide her giggles. Shikamaru merely scowled in response.

"S-Sensei, are you going to l-let us know what the test is now?" Hinata asked when she stopped giggling.

"Oh? And you all are focused too and don't waste time? I like that!" The tokubetsu jonin declared with a laugh. "So, you all ready for this thing?"

All three kids nodded in response, with Hinata being the first one to nod.

"Okay...so basically, it's a survival training test. We are going to fight: the three of you against me." Anko told them.

Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru all looked at their sensei with wide eyes.

"Basically, I'm going to evaluate your skills and such through combat. We'll continue until I make a decision whether you guys should pass or not." She told them, cutting off any questions. "To pass, there's only two things you guys have to do. The first thing is impress me. Don't hold back and show me what you are all capable of as Konoha shinobi! And you all better damn well be coming at me with the intent to kill, or I guarantee you'll fail!"

The three graduates nodded in understanding.

"W-What's the second?" Hinata asked.

"Survive." The tokubetsu jonin deadpanned. The woman allowed some killing intent to be released with her words.

All three genin had wide eyes at the feeling of her killing intent. It felt like nothing they had ever experienced, even during the fight with Mizuki. Anko noticed their reaction and burst into laughter.

"Oh come on! Don't get all scared on me yet brats! This isn't even near half the killing intent I'm capable of releasing, and this is also nowhere near the type you can feel on a battlefield!" She said in between her laughter. She took a few seconds trying to compose herself before she spoke again, this time with a much more serious tone. "So, are you all ready to begin?"

The students started to focus once again. They each tried to calm themselves down. Hinata, to Anko's surprise, was the first to recover completely. "Y-Yes. Let's d-do this, A-Anko-Sensei."

Naruto and Shikamaru nodded in agreement with her words, having recovered themselves.

"Yeah, enough talking. We get it! So let's do this thing dattebayo! We're ready!" The blonde-haired jinchuuriki exclaimed excitedly.

"Good. Very good." Anko grinned sadistically in response. She bit at her thumb, causing it to bleed, and started doing hand signs. "Then let's get this over with. Your true graduation exam starts now!"

Anko immediately slammed her hand down on the ground, causing it to erupt in smoke. All three genin pulled out a kunai and stared attentively, waiting for their sensei's first move. When the smoke cleared, to their surprise, Anko was no longer in sight. In her place, a giant camouflage-colored snake was curled up. The second it saw the three genin, it hissed and attacked.

The snake moved faster than the genin could react. It slammed its large tail straight into the stomachs of each genin, sending them backwards and knocking the breath out of them.

"...damn...that hurt like hell!" Naruto groaned as he pulled himself up.

"...well what were you expecting? We're...we're going up against a jonin after all!" Shikamaru said, still out of breath, as he pulled himself up. He kept his eyes on the approaching snake.

"We...we need to be more careful..." Hinata added quietly, getting up herself.

The snake, seeing that the kids were starting to recover, struck again with its massive tail. This time, however, the genin had the chance to react. They activated the Substitution Jutsu in time, replacing themselves with nearby logs. They then moved further into the surrounding forest around the training ground, creating distance between them and the snake. Hinata took the time to activate her Byakugan to keep her eyes on the snake.

"The snake is trying to find our scent. It'll probably be here in soon, maybe a minute or two..." Hinata noted, still focusing on the snake to see its movements.

"Just enough time to set up a trap!" Naruto stated excitedly before turning to Shikamaru. "You still have exploding tags on you right Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru nodded in response as he pulled out a few tags. The Nara, after a conversation with his parents, realized that explosive tags would be the perfect weapon for him to increase his offense plans. Explosive tags were a strong offensive weapon, but also were a tactical weapon. They could be used in a variety methods as traps or to set enemies into a deeper trap. Shikamaru grew attached to such a weapon and offensive strategy.

Naruto was about to speak again about a strategy but was cut off by his lazy friend. "I'll set up tags for when the snake comes after us. We just need to lead into the trap and then I'll activate the tags. After that, we just pound on it until it's taken out."

"Hmph. It'll do." Naruto grumbled. Truthfully, his plan was pretty much identical to his genius friend. He was just irritated that his friend got to voice it first.

"It'll work. Good thinking Shikamaru-Kun!" Hinata informed her friend. "W-We should get them set up quickly. The snake seems to have found our scent. It's heading in our direction!"

Hinata's words caused Shikamaru to become completely focused. He sprung up quickly and immediately started scanning the surrounding area for the most opportune places to place his tags. He was able to set up four tags up in trees before he was interrupted by Hinata.

"It's here. It'll be out in the open in a second." Hinata shouted to her friend as she readied a kunai knife.

Shikamaru immediately took out a kunai and waited in quiet as he waited for the first sign of movement from the snake. Naruto also made the hand sign for his favorite jutsu, the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

The snake soon pulled into the area, hissing. As soon as it arrived, Naruto activated his jutsu and the area was soon filled with fifteen clones. Five of the clones immediately charged the snake while the others waited near one of the locations of Shikamaru's exploding tags. Hinata jumped down from her place up in the trees to join Naruto and his clones.

The snake didn't waste a second to attack the approaching clones. It moved forward and slammed its head forward, hitting one of the clones and causing it to disappear. The clones attempted to physically attack through kicking when they got close enough, but failed to do too much damage. The snake slammed its tail after the first hit, eliminating two more clones. It then swallowed the two remaining clones after they got too close to its mouth. The snake then turned its attention to Hinata, Naruto, and his clones.

Hinata and all Narutos started to toss kunai from their position, attacking from a distance. The giant snake took a few hits before it was able to squirm away and start approaching the genin, its mouth wide open. Naruto and Hinata jumped out of the way in time. Seven of the clones there, however, were unable to get away and were subsequently eaten. The snake proceeded to turn around to find its prey again only to be attacked by Hinata and the remaining clones. Hinata was trying to push the snake further back towards the tree through her palm strikes while the clones were just piling damage with their fists.

Anko's summon was pushed back from the assault, very close to a marked tree. It hissed angrily as it slammed its tail into the attackers. The remaining clones were dispersed and Hinata was sent flying towards another tree. Despite the pain, she couldn't help but give off a smile.

"He's close enough. Now Shikamaru-Kun!" She shouted, the adrenaline of the fight causing her to speak louder and clearer than usual.

Shikamaru didn't need the reminder, but followed it anyway. He activated the exploding tag that was on the tree where the snake was at. The explosion occurred, the strong force of it sending the snake flying into another tree. Shikamaru noticed where it landed and couldn't hide a smug smirk as he activated the exploding tag on that tree's branches. When activated, the explosion knocked off the branches, which hit the snake hard on its head. It hissed in pain it tried to get up.

Naruto, seeing an opportunity to end the fight, tossed kunai at the snake that was struggling to get up to keep fighting. The snake moaned in pain as the kunai made direct contact with its tail before it disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"Hell yeah...there we go dattebayo." Naruto said with a proud smirk.

Hinata couldn't help but smile, feeling accomplished from the fight. She pulled herself up from the ground and walked over to the grinning Naruto. Shikamaru moved around to the other areas of the forest to collect the unused exploding tags before he jumped to meet his friends.

"Not bad brats. That boy's nowhere near as strong as most of my snakes are, though. Still, for a couple of academy graduates, you guys really gave him a pounding!"

The three kids turned over to the direction of the voice and saw Anko laying on a tree branch. She seemed very relaxed and amused, as if she was just watching a show.

"How long have you been there Anko-Sensei? And shouldn't you be testing us yourself?" Naruto shouted to her.

"I've been here the whole time. And I am testing you! If you couldn't tell, that snake was one of my summons. You were meant to fight it as part of the test!" Anko fired back, giving off a slight yawn.

"So do we pass then?" The blonde asked excitedly.

"Not yet. You think that'd be enough to impress me?" The tokubetsu jonin scoffs.

A tick mark grew on Naruto's face as he took out another kunai and tossed at his sensei. "Well, then let's see how impressed you are with this!"

Naruto had expected his sensei to block the kunai or dodge it. What he did not expect was her to take the hit. The kunai landed directly in her head. Anko fell off the tree lifelessly...before disappearing in smoke.

"...wait, was that a shadow clone?" Naruto asked in surprise as he started to scan the nearby area.

"Makes sense she would know it. It is a jonin level jutsu after all." Shikamaru mindlessly mentioned as he scanned the area himself, prepared for any possible attack.

"G-Guys!" Hinata gasped in shock, her Byakugan activated. "S-She's here!"

"Where?" Naruto asked frantically, getting even more prepared for an attack.

Hinata gave no verbal response. She only tossed a kunai in the direction opposite of where Naruto was facing. Her kunai blocked a shuriken coming from that direction.

"Does that answer your question?" Anko asked in a fake sweet tone as she started to appear into sight. She was charging at the kids, making hand signs. When she finished, she raised her left arm towards them. "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Snakes shot up from her coat's sleeves and were sent forward towards the academy graduates. Before they had time to react, the snakes grabbed onto Naruto and sent him flying towards the jonin sensei.

"Naruto-Kun!" Hinata shouted in surprise as she immediately started to run after her crush. Shikamaru followed closely behind.

Naruto gasped in pain as the snakes bit harder as he was being sent towards his sensei. As he approached her, Anko then redirected her attack, sending Naruto straight into a nearby tree. She then charged at the boy with great speed, slamming her fist straight into his stomach. He groaned in pain and barely registered the fact that she pulled out a kunai. Anko then made a small cut on his cheek.

"Give an enemy shinobi the smallest of opportunities and they'll have you in their mercy. You'll feel a hell of a lot of pain and know you can't make a mistake, even in your weakened state, cause you know you'll die if you do!" Anko informed the boy as she licked the blood of the kunai. She released another wave of killing intent to show her point. "So, how do you face this situation, Whiskers?"

"He won't be facing the situation alone!" Hinata shouted.

Anko turned around at the sound of the noise and was met with the Hyuga heiress's assault. The tokubetsu jonin fended off the girl's attacks, making sure that the girl wasn't hitting any of her tenketsu. After awhile, Anko turned the tables on the girl, focusing on attacking back. The girl struggled to block the older woman's stronger blows and received many direct hits from her sensei.

"I admire the fact that you rushed into save your ally, but that doesn't always cut it in the real world. You can't just rush in blindly to save a friend, cause you may just end up needing saving yourself!" Anko informed the girl sharply as she dealt a punch to the girl's face. Hinata fell down in pain and immediately got up, breathing really hard. "You need to be more careful next time or else you'll be dead!"

"I...I was Sensei." Hinata mumbled out in between her breaths. "You...you should be more careful y-yourself..."

Anko was about to respond but was cut off when she lost all feeling in her body. She couldn't move any muscle. Suddenly, she felt her head turning and saw Shikamaru standing behind her.

"Hey Sensei." He replied lazily. Despite the fact that his head was turned so that she could see him, Anko knew the boy had a smug grin on his face.

"I'll give you guys this, I didn't expect that. I wasn't really expecting you to actually try and trap me in your shadow while Stutters-Chan was attacking me. Didn't know you could make the effort." Anko admitted, slightly teasing the boy in her praise. Her tone of voice then took a slightly mischievous and sadistic twist. "But, you do know that I have enough chakra that I can easily break from your control, right?"

"I'm aware. However, I didn't really intend on trapping you for too long. Only to stall you." Shikamaru told her, his grin still on his face.

_'Stall? What?'_ Anko thought in confusion. She immediately broke the boy's hold on her through overpowering it with her chakra. She was about to start preparing for an attack, but she was too late. Naruto immediately pounced on her. He slammed her body down hard to the ground and delivered a punch to the face before he got out a kunai and held it to her neck.

"Give the enemy any opportunity and they'll have you at their mercy. Isn't that right Sensei?" Naruto asked her, taunting her with the words she used on him.

_'So, the two others were really just distracting me so that he could recover and actually land a pretty damn good hit on me. Not too bad. They actually work well together and could do some serious damage if trained more.'_Anko noted, actually impressed.

"That's right Whiskers. However, I did ask you how would you respond to that situation, didn't I? Well, this is how I would!" She replied aloud before disappearing in a poof of smoke, replaced by a log.

"Heh, I figured as much." Naruto mumbled with a smirk. He turned to Shikamaru, who was grinning in response back as he made a hand sign.

* * *

Anko was sitting in a nearby tree branch after she used the Substitution Jutsu. She was watching the three kids, wondering exactly what they were doing.

_'Why are they just standing still? Shouldn't they be flustered or shit? Trying to prepare for an attack? Or maybe hunting me? Why are they just standing still?!'_ Anko thought in confusion, still watching her students.

She was finally about to give up wondering and just charge at them when she noticed Shikamaru make a hand sign. All of a sudden, she noticed a noise coming from her coat's pocket. She reached in and pulled a kunai out: a kunai with an explosive tag on it. The explosive tag was in the process of activating.

_'Ah! So when Whiskers was recovering while Stutters-Chan attacked me, he got an explosive tag from Lazy Ass. He then put it on a kunai and slipped into my pocket when he had me on the ground. Clever son of a bitch...'_ Anko thought, impressed.

The explosive tag went off, creating a large explosion in its place. Anko managed to get away, but took some damage on the right side of her body when escaping.

_'That's another 'hit' they got on me. I may not be giving near my full strength at all on them, but that's damn impressive! Even when going easy, I should still be too much of a match for most genin...'_ Anko noted. _'...I have to pass them now...'_

* * *

The tokubetsu jonin soon reappeared in front of the three kids. Naruto and Hinata were the most tired, having taken the most hits. Still, all three were notably happy and curious about their standing.

"So, Sensei, did we impress you enough? Or do you want us to keep going?" Naruto asked, a smirk still on his face.

"Is that a challenge? Believe me, I haven't even done a fraction of what I can do!" Anko replied confidently.

"Bring it on!" The blonde-haired kid responded as he glared at his sensei.

Anko returned his glare with one of her own. Sparks flew between the two stubborn shinobi before Shikamaru interrupted the staredown with a cough.

"Not that I care if you guys want to fight again, but can you tell us how we did Sensei?" Shikamaru replied lazily with a yawn.

Anko sighed in frustration. "Sure, sure. Whatever. Anyway, you all did impress me. More than I expected. So, that makes you all my team!"

"HELL YEAH!" Naruto shouted. He seemed to momentarily forget any exhaustion or injuries from his fight and started to jump up and down in excitement. "We're a team now dattebayo!"

"You better damn well believe you are!" The purple-haired ninja stated. "You're MY team! You guys all have some serious potential and I'm going to take advantage of it and make you all into the greatest damn shinobi to ever come from this village!"

_'That also means I'll be training you guys like hell. Heh, good luck brats!'_ Anko chuckled inwardly, starting to plan the tort-...er...training.

Anko's words only made Naruto jump even more in excitement. Her words also added some mood to his two teammates. Shikamaru had a pleased, happy smile on his face while Hinata seemed just as excited as her blonde friend, only she wasn't outwardly acting on it.

_'So it's official! Nothing can change it! We're all a team together! I didn't let them down!'_ Hinata cheered inwardly, her 'inner-self' doing backflips and jumping up and down even more excitedly than Naruto was doing now.

Anko couldn't help but laugh as she looked at the genin. "Just letting you guys know, you're dismissed for the day. We'll meet up here at 8:00 tomorrow morning and we will do that every day unless I say so! So, now, you guys are dismissed!"

The three genin bowed in response, thanked their sensei, and left together. They were probably going to celebrate the fact that they passed their exam.

Mitarashi Anko watched as her genin squad was leaving. Inwardly, she was thinking a thousand different thoughts a minute. She was having trouble deciding on exactly what she was feeling.

_'On one hand, I'm pissed that they're going to take up a lot of my free time. I also wonder how good of a sensei I can be. But on the other hand...damn, they'll be kickass shinobi in the future! And I have to admit, they aren't that bad for brats...'_ Anko thought.

_'...you know, I'll be excited and happy. Why the hell not? I just may like this thing...'_ The tokubetsu jonin nodded to herself, finally deciding on how she felt about this whole thing.

Anko was about to leave and head to go get some dango to celebrate this new-found realization when she remembered something. She immediately turned to face a nearby tree.

"You know, the brats are all gone. You can come out and stop hiding now." She called out.

Nearly on cue with her words, a figure jumped out of the tree and landed right in front of it. The figure was a woman with long black hair and red eyes. She wore a white and red tight-fitting armor that resembled a blouse and had bandages over her hands. The woman greeted Anko with a wave and walked up to her. She responded back with a wave of her own.

"You've been there for awhile Kurenai. Don't you have your own kids to fail? Should you really be wasting too much time with me?" The tokubetsu jonin asked with a laugh.

"Already did." The woman, Kurenai, said with a sigh. "I had a team already planned out, but then Hokage-Sama felt the need to change up my request. I got a different team instead: a team made up of kids who should never be made genin!"

The purple haired woman noticed a hint of bitterness in her friend's voice.

"You know, I really am surprised that you passed your team." Kurenai admitted to her friend, a smile back on her face.

"Oh come on! I may not have been too excited about having a team. Hell, I'll admit to being pissed and complaining a lot! But I'm not gonna deny talent when I see it. There was no way I couldn't pass those brats!" Anko replied back.

"Oh, I have no doubt you would see their talent. But still, I can't believe you actually passed a team." The red-eyed jonin stated, stifling a giggle. "You know what that means right?"

"...what?" Her friend replied nervously. She saw the smile and her struggling to hold back her laughter. Anko had a feeling she was not going to like whatever she was about to hear.

"Well, you just took up a team. A team of new genin. Hope you have fun doing D-Rank missions for awhile!" Kurenai informed her friend cheerfully before making a hand sign and diseapping through the Shunshin.

Anko blinked. She blinked twice. Memories starting to fill her mind. Horrible memories from her time as a genin.

_'All those hours...those boring hours! The painting, the babysitting, the grocery shopping...that damn cat!'_ Anko's mind replayed various mental images of menial tasks around the image. The image of her chasing after a cat replayed multiple times.

It was too much for the tokubetsu jonin. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, her eyes still filled with shock.

_'No more meaningful missions. Less time for torture. No more fun. More lame chores. More hours boredom. MORE TIME WITH THAT DAMN CAT!'_ Anko fumed within her head.

"DAMN IT! THIS IS THE LAST TIME I TAKE UP A FRICKIN GENIN TEAM!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Chapter five everybody! :D Team Three has now officially been formed! Let the fun begin :)

Quite a few of you guessed Anko in the reviews. To all who did, congrats! :D

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! :) Please let me know of your thoughts and criticism. It all helps me! Thank you all so much for the support you've given the story! I'm still amazed by it! You guys are just amazing! :)

I'm working on chapter six now as we speak and I'll have it up hopefully in the next week, as soon as possible! Until then everyone :)


	6. Life as Genin

**Disclaimer: I had a dream I owned Naruto. I woke up and the realization that I didn't crushed me :( Then I turned to fanfiction :D**

* * *

Naruto was grinning as he ran down the streets towards Training Ground Seventeen. Today was his first day of training. Today would also be the day of his first mission. The blonde truly felt like a shinobi and he was happy about it.

_'This is it...this is where my journey to become Hokage truly begins dattebayo!'_ He mentally declared to himself as he left the houses of Konoha and was reaching the outer areas where the training grounds were.

It didn't take long for the Uzumaki to find the training grounds. The boy was cutting it close on time, however, which explained why his other two teammates and his sensei were already present.

"Last one here? I expected more from the future Hokage." Anko taunted the boy.

Naruto's eyes narrowed on her. "You be quiet Anko-Sensei! I'm on time dattebayo!"

"Lighten up boy. Just a joke! For a prankster, you take things too seriously." The woman laughed in response.

Naruto didn't say anything in response. He only slightly frowned as he made his way over to his two friends. He greeted both of them with a high five before he turned back to his sensei. It was at this time that Naruto noticed that the woman had a large, plain brown bag that she was carrying on her back.

"Well, we are all here, why not we just start now?" He asked.

"Eh...why not? We are only two minutes ahead of schedule anyway." The snake summoner shrugged before beginning her explanation. "Okay, just giving you all a heads up: this is how our daily schedules will work. We start each day with a warmup, which could take anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour, depending on my mood. After that, then I'll work on some group training work. This may include teamwork, chakra control, jutsus, weapons, etc. Really anything you all can be trained on as a team. Finally, after that, I'll make two shadow clones and then I, or my clones, will work directly one-on-one with each of you on specialized training. When that's all done, we will go to the Hokage's tower and see if there are any missions available. Is all of that understood?"

"Yes sensei!" All three genin replied.

"Alright, now, before the warmup and before I forget, take one of these!" Anko informed her students as she gave them each a slip of paper.

"And what are these for sensei?" Naruto asked as he stared at his paper.

"Well, Whiskers, these chakra papers are for finding out your natural element." She responded with a smirk.

Naruto's look of confusion morphed into one of excitement. Thanks to his last-minute paying attention to Iruka's lessons, he remembered the discussion on nature affinities. He knew exactly what they were and he was excited.

"Just a heads up, I won't really be teaching you brats nature manipulation just yet." Anko informed them. "But, I still want to do this for two reasons. For one, I can have it for a reference for later on. And two, when I start teaching you guys jutsu, I know what type of jutsus will be easier and more effective for you all to learn!"

The tokubetsu jonin pulls out her own chakra paper and applies her chakra into into. The paper immediately lights itself on fire and starts to burn.

"Whoa!" Naruto gasps, staring wide eyed at the fire.

"Pretty cool huh?" The purple haired woman asks as she crushes the paper in her hand, putting out the fire. "If it wasn't obvious, the burning and fire means I am a fire type. Naturally. But enough about me! This about you brats! Now...put some chakra into your papers and let's find out your affinities!"

The three genin nodded and followed their sensei's request.

Hinata was the first to have her paper react. Her paper was soaked, causing water to drip down the girl's hand.

"Water element. Nice!" Anko informed her. "Probably the most flexible and versatile element of all five. Great offense and defense and it's good with short and long range. You've got a lot of things you can do with it, especially if you actually get good with it. Yep...you got a pretty damn good element!"

"R-Really?" Hinata asked, a smile growing on her face. She seemed proud to hear she had an element that could be useful in multiple areas.

Anko nodded, then turned her attention over to Naruto. His chakra paper was split in half.

"Wind element huh? Very rare in Konoha. Your like...what, the second one we got?" Anko noted. "Nevertheless, great element! Single greatest attacking element in close and mid range and also great for support techniques. Very useful element indeed!"

"Heh, awesome!" Naruto cheered loudly.

Anko didn't pay too much attention to his screaming. Instead, she was currently gaping at the sight of the Nara boy. The paper he was currently holding had lit on fire.

"...really? Really?" Anko mumbled in disbelief. "Of all three of you, Lazy Ass is the only one with my natural affinity? REALLY?"

"...troublesome." Shikamaru simply stated as he stopped applying chakra and ended the fire. "...I'll just stick with my Clan's shadow techniques."

"Oh no you don't boy! If you have a fire affinity, I'll be working on that thing! Who knows, maybe I'll get you to be more active or something!" The tokubetsu jonin informed him. She was now sporting a grin at how 'training' with Shikamaru's fire affinity will go.

The Nara was starting to grow nervous.

"..ahem...anyway, yeah, I just wanted to get that in for a reference for later." Anko stated, getting everyone's attention. "Anyway, let's get to work with warmups! Let's begin!"

"Yes Anko-Sensei!" The three genin said in unison as they faced their sensei, ready to do any warmup she had planned.

* * *

What started off as a harmless, normal warmup turned into a training session from hell for the genin. Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru laid on the ground, tired and panting while Anko stood above them, frowning.

"Ah, come on brats! It wasn't that bad!" She replied.

"Not that bad? You call doing one hundred sit ups, one hundred push ups, and fifty laps around the training field not that bad?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"That's also not mentioning the kunai you would throw at us whenever we stopped for a few seconds, or the times where you forced us to start over because of some troublesome reason." Shikamaru added, glaring at the woman in front of him. _'She's worse than my mom! Good lord...this is a pain...'_

"Seriously, it isn't bad! You should see what Gai does to his genin squad." Anko responded nonchalantly.

Despite all of his rude remarks towards her, Hinata felt deep sympathy for her cousin, Neji, if Anko's words about his sensei were true. _'What could honestly be worse than this?'_

"Anyway, that concludes your warmup for today." The tokubetsu jonin told them with a smile. The three genin took this time to get up. "Now, onto group training! Today's focus: chakra control!"

_'DAMN IT! This is going to be just like with mom, but worse...again...' _Shikamaru groaned in his head. Naruto and Hinata were experiencing similar thoughts with Yoshino in mind.

"Now, just curious, do you guys know how to climb trees with only your feet?" The sensei asked. The genin nodded in response. "Oh, I see. I'd take you to practice water walking, but there's no water here...guess I'll have to do that later. For now, I'll just work on improving your tree walking!"

The snake summoner led the genin members of Team Three towards the forest near the training grounds. She stood in front of three trees in particular.

"Okay, brats, today's lesson plan is this: climb up the trees and get to the branches. Then keep walking underneath the branches and hold your positions there." Anko ordered.

"Huh? That's it?" Naruto asked.

"Eh, we'll see." She shrugged in response. "Anyway, the day's going on! Get a move on!"

With those words, the three genin rushed up their tree as quickly as they could. They all got on the underside of the top branch on their trees and stood there.

"Heh, this won't be that bad!" Naruto told his two friends with a laugh.

He had no clue how wrong he was...

* * *

Once again, all three genin were laying on the ground by their trees in exhaustion. This time, chakra exhaustion was added with their physical exhaustion.

Anko had decided that they weren't being challenged enough, so she ordered them to hop from tree branch to tree branch in the forest while underneath the tree. This was naturally harder to do then being above the tree and required even more chakra control and balance. Anko would also, once again, throw kunai at her students when they showed signs of tiredness to urge them to keep moving and training.

"Come on brats, get up! We need to do individual training now." Anko reminded them with a smile.

The three genin got up once again, this time more slowly.

"You're a sadist...you know that?" Shikamaru informed her with a deep breath.

"Yup." The woman responded.

"J-Just give a f-few minutes to r-relax please Anko-Sensei." Hinata requested.

The tokubetsu jonin sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll give you guys fifteen minutes to take a break. Just be ready when you're done!"

With those words, the three kids passed out on the ground in exhaustion once again.

_'...well, at least I'm getting stronger dattebayo...'_ Naruto told himself, thinking on the positive side.

* * *

When all three genin were finished calming themselves down, Anko made the hand sign for the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Two clones appeared in a poof of smoke and stared at the genin.

"Okay brats, just saying: my clones will be working with Whiskers and Lazy Ass. They'll lead you somewhere else on the training grounds. That means Stutters-Chan gets time here with me."

Hinata released a small 'eep' while Shikamaru and Naruto merely nodded. Anko's clones ushered for them to follow down different paths. The two boys did just that. They were eventually gone, leaving Hinata alone with her sensei.

"Well, just you and me!" The purple haired woman stated with her trademark sadistic grin.

"Y-Yes..." her student replied nervously.

"No need to be nervous. Now...for today's first day of training, I am going to teach you how to use a weapon." Anko informed the Hyuga heiress as she started digging in the bag she was holding.

"W-What? What w-weapon?" Hinata asked, a little curious and nervous. "And w-why a weapon? M-Most Hyuga d-don't use w-weapons in their f-fighting style."

Anko was about to pull out the weapon of her choosing before she registered what Hinata had just said. She put her bag down for a second with a sigh and turned to her student.

"Hinata, I actually don't mind you, so I feel I should ask you: can I be brutally honest about your clan?" The tokubetsu jonin asked.

The Hyuga heiress nearly gasped at her sensei's words. For starters, this was the first time she actually referred to her by her real name, not the nickname she was assigned. Also, her sensei was actually asking for permission to say what's on her mind.

"Um...o-of course. S-Say anything." Hinata replied. She felt happy that her sensei actually asked her, but she was also nervous about what her sensei would say.

"Your clan is the biggest group of idiots in Konoha." Anko stated rather bluntly.

Hinata's eyes only slightly widened, having expected an insult. She merely remained silent, however, waiting to hear her sensei's words.

"You see, you guys possess the Byakugan, a doujutsu that allows you three-sixty degree vision in addition to see through walls and see people's chakra. However, the only thing your clan really uses it for is the Gentle Fist. Now, don't get me wrong: the Gentle Fist is pretty damn deadly and effective and makes a Hyuga a hell of an opponent! Having said that, that is really all you use your eyes for." Anko explained her reasoning.

"A Hyuga would make probably one of the best damn medics, since you can see directly through a person and into their body's systems, but you guys never become medics because of 'tradition'." The snake summoner rolled her eyes at her own words.

Hinata frowned as well. She actually had an interest in medical ninjutsu and even designed her own healing salves and medicine. Still, she knew she wouldn't be allowed to become a medical ninja. It would be considered 'impractical', 'a waste of time', and 'disgraceful' to her clan.

"There's also another thing your clan fails to use your eyes for: long-range attacks." Anko continued in her rant. "You guys have such great vision that you could see enemy shinobi coming from far distances! And yet, you are all close to mid range fighters only? Yeah...just no."

Anko finally ended up going back to her bag and pulling out the weapon she was getting earlier. Hinata's eyes wandered to it and gasped at what she saw.

Her sensei was holding a bow and arrow set.

"Yeah, I decided that you should capitalize on what your eyes can do! So, I'm going to work with you on developing your long-range skills. I'll teach you some jutsus later on when you can learn them. For now, though, let's work on developing your archery!" She declared, handing over the bow and arrows to the Hyuga.

Hinata held the wooden bow in her hands tightly. She instinctively moved her hand back and forth down its limbs, trying to get a feel for her weapon. The Hyuga then had another thought come into her head.

"Byakugan!" She shouted, activating her doujutsu.

Her vision expanded greatly, showing her everything around her due to her eye's range. For the first time in awhile, though, Hinata noticed just how far she could see with her eyes.

_'I...I'd say I can see about a little more than a kilometer. I can see far away trees with fruit that I could shoot down! I know if there was a ninja there, I could see them and would be able to fire at them!'_ Hinata thought, excitedly. _'And I can even increase my vision with more practice...'_

"So you just how deadly you could be, don't you?" Anko asked her student. "Get you some practice, and you could make yourself Konoha's single greatest long-distance fighter! And if somehow an enemy survived past your assaults from a distance, you'd have the Gentle Fist for when they get too close."

Hinata felt determination rush through her body. She immediately took out an arrow and placed it on the arrow rest as she started to aim at a faraway apple in a tree. Anko saw this determination and her grin grew even larger.

"Now, I may not be good with a bow, but I have some scrolls and I know the basics. So, Stutters-Chan, let's work on your skill with a bow!" The tokubetsu jonin declared.

* * *

Naruto was led by one of the Anko clones to a separate area of the training ground. They were near the edge and were surrounded by nearby trees with targets on them.

"Are we done walking? Can we begin now Anko-Sensei?" Naruto asked in a bored tone.

"Can it Whiskers! But yes, we are done. This'll do." The Anko clone replied as she came to a stop.

"Awesome! Then, what do you have to teach me? Huh?" The blonde questioned, getting up in his sensei's face.

"Whoa! Back up there brat!" The purple-haired woman ordered with a sigh. "Anyway, because of your large chakra supply, it's safe to say you're the ninjutsu type of shinobi. So, we're working on teaching you some Wind Style ninjutsu."

Naruto proceeded to jump up and down in place, excitement running through him.

"Hell yeah! Time to learn some kickass ninjutsu!" He declared.

"Simmer down kid. We aren't teaching you that good of ninjutsu yet! You got to learn and work your way up through practice. Anyway, I have a jutsu I think you might could learn now." The clone informed him.

The tokubetsu jonin stepped forward and made a five hand signs. After her last one, she took in a deep breath and faced a target. _'Fuuton: Great Breakthrough!'_

The clone then released a gust of wind that blasted forwards. It cut into the nearby trees in front of her and obliterated the targets on them.

Naruto stared in awe at the work of the ninjutsu. The blast of wind actually knocked him back a little bit and he could see just how much damage the jutsu did to the trees and the targets. He was very impressed and excited.

"That's the Great Breakthrough. It's C-Rank and primarily a short to mid range offensive type. As you can see, it packs a pretty good punch." The Anko clone noted, impressed by her work. "It can be made better with practice though, especially if the user actually is a wind type."

Naruto's eyes gleamed at that.

"Hell yeah! I'll make that jutsu mine dattebayo! Anko-Sensei, Anko-Sensei, can you show me the hand signs again?" The boy asked, clearly ready and excited.

After watching Anko make the hand signs one more time, Naruto turned to face the same trees that his sensei was in front. He made the same five hand signs before taking a deep breath himself. _'Fuuton: Great Breakthrough!'_

Naruto released his breath and tried to release the wind. No wind shot forward, however. A tiny breeze of wind could be felt, but Naruto couldn't tell if that was cause of his jutsu or not.

Anko sweat dropped. _'To be honest, I was expecting him to fail it the first time cause of putting too much uncontrolled chakra. How the hell did he fail to create it?'_

"Damn it!" The boy complained. "Whatever, I'll get it down this dattebayo!"

The Anko clone continued to watch Naruto practice the jutsu, ready to give any hints she could to help him learn. Naruto continued to practice, dead set on learning this jutsu.

* * *

Shikamaru couldn't help but feel suspicious and slightly nervous as the Anko clone took him to his separate part of the training ground. Every few seconds, the clone would turn its head and stare at Shikamaru as if he was prey. The look would then go away as the purple-haired woman would pay attention to what way she was going. That didn't stop her from still looking at him like that though.

The boy continued to watch with her suspicion.

Finally, Anko stopped walking when they reached a small area in the training ground. Their location was a simple wide open field with nothing present: no trees, no practice dummies, nothing.

It was in this area that Anko immediately charged at Shikamaru, readying her fist to punch him.

The young Nara's eyes widened as he barely managed to get out of the way in time. He then put distance between him and the clone as fast as he could.

"Anko-Sensei, what are you doing?" He asked, his voice a little shaky from being caught off guard.

"Training you." She replied as she charged at him again, this time going faster.

Shikamaru was unable to avoid this blow. He took the fist straight in his face and fell to the ground in pain. He got up as quickly as he could and glared at his sensei as he made more distance.

"You should have seriously been able to dodge that." Anko pointed out.

"What's the point of this?" The Nara grumbled in response as he got into position to fight off enough another blow.

Sure enough, the clone charged at him again. The boy was able to block this hit and began to engage his sensei's clone in a fight.

"Well, basically, I noticed something about you Lazy Ass: your reflexes and physical strength suck." The purple-haired woman told him bluntly as she attempted to deliver a kick at him. She made contact and knocked him down after a strike to his stomach. "I noticed that in the test yesterday you didn't get involved really in the physical fighting: just all the planning and strategy. And according to the academy tests, you have one of the worst taijutsus. So, until we can work on your weaknesses and improve them, you're going to be stuck fighting me each day."

Shikamaru groaned as he got himself up, both in pain and annoyance. He had heard the complaint's about his taijutsu already too many times, from the academy teachers and his parents. This was nothing new to him. He couldn't help but get annoyed at his sensei's 'training'.

"Is that all?" He grumbled after he was finally up and ready to continue fighting.

"Eh, yeah. Basically, I am going to force some physical strength skills into you Lazy Ass. So be prepared!" She shouted as she charged again.

Shikamaru sighed, mumbling something about 'pains in the ass' before he got into position to fight off his sensei.

* * *

After an hour of individual training, Anko ended the sessions and closed training for the day. All three genin seemed to be excited about this concept.

Shikamaru was the most excited. He was completely exhausted having to deal with Anko's one-on-one physical training in addition to the previous sessions with his teammates. The boy was completely drained and he was surprised he was still standing.

_'I am taking the first chance I get to take a nap. I really need one. Troublesome woman...'_ He complained.

Hinata was not nearly as tired as her lazy friend was, but she was sore in her hands and her eyes. She had been practicing her skill with the bow and arrow the entire time, attempting to hit faraway targets to make herself a skilled long-range fighter. At first, in the words of her sensei, she 'sucked horribly'. Still, with each arrow fired, she was getting better. By the end of the session, the Hyuga was finally starting to get the concept.

_'If I can get it down perfectly, that'll make me even better of a ninja. It'll make me stronger for my team...for Naruto-Kun!'_ She mentally thought, creating more determination to learn to use the bow.

Naruto was the least tired in the group. His endurance and stamina was finally starting to kick in and he was able to spend his entire time practicing his jutsu. After many failed attempts from using too much or too little chakra, Naruto finally was able to create a slightly strong gust of wind with the Great Breakthrough. Now, he only needed to perfect it and make it a stronger jutsu.

_'I just need to work on it! More practice, then I'll move on to the next!'_ Naruto thought excitedly.

"Well...I guess that's it for training. I'll admit, I was hard on you guys, but you all are doing a damn good job." Anko told them with a smile.

All three genin, even Shikamaru, felt joy at their sensei's words.

"Anyway, now it's mission time..." Anko told them with a sigh.

"YES! Finally! First mission dattebayo!" Naruto cheered loudly.

_'Hopefully the mission won't upset Naruto-Kun...'_ Hinata thought to herself. She remembered Iruka's lesson on mission ranks and knew they were going to get a D-Rank. She knew it would be 'too easy' for Naruto, and she was worried for his reaction.

_'Damn it...I really wanted to get some rest...'_ Shikamaru groaned.

"Well...let's go and get this over with..." Anko mumbled with a sigh, leading the way for her genin squad to the Hokage tower. _'Please don't be too easy, please don't be too easy...'_

* * *

The young Uzumaki had many expectations for his first mission. He had wondered what great mission would he be able to say was his first. An assassination mission of a dangerous criminal? Protecting royalty from S-Class invaders? Infiltration to learn enemy secrets?

Naruto had many expectations and ideas for his first mission. None of them involved pulling weeds.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Naruto screamed in complaint as he pulled up another weed.

"Hey, shut up brat! Wasn't it you who said that gardening was one of his favorite hobbies?" Anko sneered in response as she helped pick up weeds with her team.

"Yeah, but that's different. I like picking out the plants, watering them, and watching them grow. I don't like picking weeds though! I hate weeds!" The blonde roared as he picked up another weed.

Hinata couldn't help but giggle at her crush's rather comedic frustration, but she completely sympathized. She liked growing plants and pressing flowers, so she knew how evil weeds were. She was not enjoying this mission just as much as he was.

Shikamaru didn't even register his friend's comments. He was currently using his friend's loudness as a cover for him to take a break and try and nap.

Despite snapping at the boy, Anko completely understood the boy's disappointment and complaining. She couldn't believe just how boring this mission was. It was worse than she remembered.

_'...how many more missions till I can request a C-Rank? Please...come soon...'_ Anko thought in desperation as she picked up another weed herself.

* * *

Days passed since the first day of training. The four members of Team Three eventually fell into routine with the hard work of their first day. Each day, they would meet up at the training ground and begin the training exactly like they did earlier. After training was complete, they would perform a D-Rank mission from the Hokage before being dismissed for the day.

Anko couldn't help but notice that her genin were indeed getting stronger. Physically, the warmups were helping them get tougher and get them more stamina. Their chakra control as a whole was also improving. The tokubetsu jonin took them out to practice water walking during their first week and after a few days, the three were able to get to the hang of it.

Shikamaru was probably showing the biggest signs of development. The boy had went through the most rigid physical program under Anko. Although he was still a 'lazy ass', the boy had indeed improved to Anko's standards. He was getting tougher and his reflexes had improved. His taijutsu was actually getting to the point of being 'decent' to his sensei. When he reached this level, his one-on-one fights with Anko stopped and she spent her time working on his specialty: tactics and planning.

Hinata also grew in her skill set. After days of practice, the girl had picked up a real talent for archery. She grew to really like her bow and arrow set and carried it around with her in a black backpack at all times. The girl's training was making her very good at fighting in long-range and was also improving her vision's distance with constant use of the Byakugan.

Naruto had spent most of his time in his practice sessions working on the Great Breakthrough. Even after he got the jutsu down, he wanted to make it stronger and perfect it. After a few sessions, the boy had managed to get a gust of wind strong enough to knock down multiple trees at once. Even his clones could now perform the jutsu with some ease. The boy was growing very excited and confident in his abilities with jutsu.

Team Three's sensei noticed the growth and development in all three of her students. She couldn't help but feel some pride in their progress. She recognized in the test that the three would be great shinobi, but she never realized to what extent.

_'Heh, if they keep this up, they'll be something of legend of someday. That'll make me legendary too, as I taught them!'_ Anko mentally noted with a laugh.

She continued to watch over their progress and assist in their training in anyway she could. Over time, being a sensei seemed easier and more natural to her. She was getting the hang of things and was able to assist her team in more ways as the days went by.

Days soon turned to weeks. Team Three continued to grow in strength and skill. Their development continued to be more apparent as time went by. Still, the squad had been stuck doing D-Rank missions since their beginning. All three members, even Shikamaru and Hinata, would agree that they were ready for a higher level mission...

* * *

"Ah! Back for another mission Team Three?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asks the genin team cheerfully as all four members walk into his office.

"Yessir." Hinata speaks up for her team after realizing that no one else is going to say anything.

The Hokage nods at the Hyuga's words and immediately looks at a list of all the available missions for the team.

"Hmm...well, there are some houses that need to be painted in the southern part of Konoha. And it seems like the Daimyo's cat has escaped again." He mentioned as he looked over the list.

Anko's eyes widened exponentially. _'Shit! Abort mission! Must convince him of something else. Just no more damn cat!'_

"Eh, H-Hokage-Sama, d-dont you think we d-deserve a C-Rank mission now? I-I mean, we've done p-plenty of D-Ranks!" Anko asked, laughing nervously.

"Who is Stutters-Chan now, Anko-Sensei?" Naruto asked, teasing his sensei for the sudden stuttering. Hinata giggled in response. "But she's right. Come on Old Man, give us a C-Rank mission already!"

"A C-Rank?" The Hokage asked. "Do you think your team can handle one?"

"Well, Hokage-Sama, my team has done plenty of missions over the past two weeks! They've completed more than enough D-Ranks necessary to request one and I can say that from watching them, they're tough. They could handle one." Anko informed him. Her nerves seemed to go away and she felt more confident that she could get a C-Rank mission allowed.

The Hokage seemed to nod in understanding. He took out another list of missions and started to look at it, to see if there was an appropriate mission to assign to Team Three. Anko crossed her fingers while the Hokage searched.

"Hmm...ah! I think I found one!" He declared as he pointed to one. He then started digging through a scroll with the mission contents in more detail.

Anko and Naruto began cheering loudly at the Hokage's words.

"YES! NO CAT!" She screamed excitedly.

"FINALLY! A REAL MISSION!" Naruto yelled nearly as loud as her.

The boy, in his excitement, immediately latched on to the person standing next to him. That person happened to be Hinata, who immediately turned a dark red and promptly fainted in his arms after a surprised 'meep!' escaped her mouth.

"Oh, sorry about that Hinat-" Naruto started to say before he realized that the girl in his arms was unconscious. "Huh? Hinata? Hinata! Are you okay? Wake up!"

Hinata's fainting only caused Anko to burst out into even more laughter. Shikamaru merely rolled his eyes in response.

_'How does that idiot not know that she likes him? Eh, he'll have to learn eventually. Or maybe someone will point it out to him someday. But even then, he'd probably still be confused. Troublesome...'_ Shikamaru thought to himself about his friend and his obliviousness.

The Hokage couldn't help but chuckle at the display in front of him. _'Oh, to be young again...'_

After getting out all of the laughter, the Hokage started to speak to the awake members of Team Three.

"Your mission is an escort mission to Kusa no Kuni. You'll be escorting a wealthy merchant from Tsuchi no Kuni, who was currently traveling in Hi no Kuni to see family. You will take him to the Tenchi Bridge, where you will meet a team of Iwa shinobi. They will then take the merchant and escort him back home in your place." The Hokage gave a brief synopsis of the mission.

_'Sweet! Iwa is involved! This isn't some normal boring C-Rank! This is a good one, guarantee!'_ Anko inwardly cheered.

"Iwa?" Naruto frowned in response. "Why do we have to deal with those punks dattebayo? We could just take him all the way home!"

"For various reasons, Naruto. First of all, this was how the client requested the mission: he already sent out the request to Iwa and Konoha months in advance about the missions, so Iwa already has the mission. Second, Iwa is in Tsuchi no Kuni and it only makes sense that they bring the merchant home themselves. Finally, this mission is one of a few ways that I'm hoping can bridge the hostility between Konoha and Iwa. The war ended years ago and it's time that we look past what happened during it." The Sandaime explained the reasoning.

Naruto seemed to accept the reasoning of the Old Man, but he still didn't seem happy. _'Stupid Iwa...'_

"So, when exactly is the mission? And who is our client? All we know is that he is just some rich merchant." Shikamaru asked for the group.

"Your mission starts tomorrow. That's the day your client is expected to leave Konoha by. As for who he is, I will have Anko meet with him in his hotel room after we are done here. The rest of you will meet him tomorrow." Sarutobi informed him.

"Um...Hokage-Sama...what about Hinata?" Naruto asked, his voice with concern towards the girl still passed out in his arms.

Sarutobi let out another laugh. "Just inform of the mission and what you will be doing when she wakes up!"

Naruto nodded in response, still looking at his friend.

"If there are no more questions, then the genin are all dismissed!" The Hokage informed them.

Naruto and Shikamaru said goodbye to the Hokage and their sensei before leaving the room, with Naruto carrying the still passed out Hinata. Anko and Sarutobi watched the genin leave, both laughing at the display.

"Oh, those brats. Something about them..." Anko stated in between her laughter.

"You've seen to taken a soft spot to them Anko. Enjoying your time as sensei?" Sarutobi asked cheerfully. He knew he had kind of forced the position of sensei onto the woman, so he was pleased to see that she was actually enjoying it.

"Well...I don't mind it. They aren't bad kids or anything." The snake summoner shrugged.

"No they aren't." The Sandaime nodded in agreement. "Anyway, on to business. Let's go introduce you to your client!"

The Hokage made the hand sign for the Shadow Clone Jutsu and created one clone. The Clone Hokage led Anko out of the room and directed her to where her client was staying. The real Sarutobi remained behind, dealing with the number one nemesis of his entire life: paperwork.

* * *

Nine silhouettes stood atop large rocks situated in front of a large statue. Seven of the silhouettes seemed blurry and almost see-through, as if they were not truly present.

"Zetsu, the Jinchuuriki is leaving his village soon, correct?" One of the figures asked in an authoritative voice.

"Yes." Another figure, Zetsu, responded. Unlike the other eight, this figure took the shape of a venus-fly trap. It then changed its voice before speaking again. **"Their mission begins tomorrow. He and his team will be heading to Kusa no Kuni towards the Tenchi Bridge, where they are meeting the other village's shinobi."**

"Good." The first figure spoke. He then the turned his attention towards two more figures, standing next to each other. "Kakuzu, Nasumareta, I have a mission for you both. As you two are the closest to the bridge, you will engage the Jinchuuriki after they leave the other ninja. Fight him to test his abilities and see where the Jinchuuriki stands. If possible now, try and capture him alive for the extraction. If you can, then try and pin his 'disappearance' on the other shinobi. The Konoha-Iwa feud is infamous, so it won't seem off that something like this happened."

"Understood." One of the figures replied in a bored, uncaring tone of voice. "Anyway, if that's all the orders you have for me, then I'll be on my way. Later!"

With those words, the figure disappeared from view on his rock.

"Didn't even wait for any more orders...that impatient, obnoxious little brat." The figure that was standing next to him hissed under his breath before he turned to face the leader. "My partner is getting me on my nerves. He has been for the past few days. Expect me to need a new partner, as I will probably kill him very soon and turn him in for the bounty Kumo has on his head if he keeps pissing me off with his impatience."

**"That'll be the third one Kakuzu."** Zetsu replied nonchalantly.

"We can look into that for you Kakuzu, but for now, just work with him and complete your mission. There are no further orders for you." The leader stated. He then turned his attention to Zetsu. "Zetsu, keep track on the other Jinchuuriki. Find out everything you can about them and their current positions."

"Got it!" The plant-figure replied, his voice back to the way it originally was.

"Konan and I will work on recruiting a new member into the organization, a man who claims to be immortal. Perhaps this would be the best suited partner for you Kakuzu?" The leader asked.

"If he pisses me off, I'll find a way to kill him too." Kakuzu responded simply.

The leader seemed to ignore the man's response and turned to the entire group. "As for the rest of you, you have your individual assignments. The meeting is dismissed until Kakuzu and Nasumareta complete their mission."

With those words, all silhouettes disappeared without a trace.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Fast update, huh? I'm proud of myself for getting this out faster to you all than usual! Hopefully this can happen again soon :)

Yeah...just a note, this is the first major sign (besides the team assignment) where my story drifts from canon. No Wave Arc, sorry. Instead, you get a story arc I've been planning for a long time. I'll be updating next chapter asap, so hopefully you'll get to see my plans really soon! :)

Thank you all once again for the continued support! You are all amazing and I'm so glad you are all still enjoying the story so much! :) As usual, let me know of any criticism and advice you all have and I will try and implement everything, to improve my writing and the story itself! :)

Anywho...that's about it. I really should be heading off to classes now :P Thanks again for all the support! I'll be updating as soon as I can! Until then :)


	7. First C-Rank: Journey to Tenchi Bridge

**Disclaimer: I'm beginning to work on a genius plan that would give me ownership of Naruto. Until it works, I do not own the series. Having said that, I will update you on my plan's progress and will notify you when it works! :D**

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru stood in front of the gates of Konoha. The three members of Team Three were sporting backpacks and extra weaponry for their first C-Rank mission, and first time out of the village. They were all anxiously awaiting for their first 'true' mission to begin, with Naruto being the most excitement.

_'My first time out of the village, my first real mission...this is going to be an awesome few days dattebayo!'_ The boy cheered inwardly, almost jumping up and down in place due to excitement.

This excitement soon changed to irritation after a few minutes passed. There sensei and client were nowhere to be found.

"...Anko-Sensei should be here by now, right?" Naruto asked his friends. "I mean she came to my house and told me 'Be here at 8:00 in the morning, or suffer the consequences!' So where is she?"

"I have no clue..." Hinata admitted with a sigh.

"Troublesome...I actually woke up early today for this and she doesn't even show up on time..." Shikamaru complained.

Minutes soon turn into an hour. It was at this point of irritation that Anko finally showed her face. She was accompanied by a short, rather large man who looked to be in his late thirties. He was wearing black pants and a large, expensive-looking blue shirt that had the kanji for 'respect' on the back. The man was also wearing a blue hat that covered most of his short blonde hair. He also was carrying two packs on his back that seemed full.

Anko didn't get the chance to speak before Naruto started to shout.

"Where the crap have you been sensei?" He asked.

Anko was about to respond but was cut off by the man that was walking with her.

"I am terribly sorry, Konoha shinobi. I am sad to say that it was my fault that we were late." The man bowed his head in apology. He had a very eloquent way of speaking. "When Anko-Sama came to pick me up for the meeting, I was still fast asleep. I had forgotten the time from our conversation yesterday, so she in fact woke me up. I had to prepare for the day right then and there, which I failed to do quickly! I am terribly sorry!"

Naruto blinked in response.

"I-It's fine sir. N-No need to a-apologize for a s-simple mistake." Hinata informed him.

"Er, yeah. No problem at all. I understand!" Naruto informed the man with a smile. Truth be told, that sounded like something he would do. Granted he wouldn't say it so 'wordy', but the point still remains.

_'I'm jealous...'_ Shikamaru noted, upset he didn't have the luck of oversleeping.

Mitarashi Anko cleared her voice, getting everyone's attention.

"Well, brats, you just heard the man. That's why we are late leaving." She stated rather bluntly, irritation evident, before pointing towards the man next to her. "Anyway, this is our client: Yen. In case you all forgot, he is a merchant from Tsuchi no Kuni and it is our job to escort him to the Tenchi Bridge and deliver him to Iwa shinobi, who will escort him home."

"It is a pleasure to meet you all!" Yen spoke up, interrupting the purple-haired woman again. "This is your genin team, correct?"

"...yes. Yes it is." She responded, her face starting to get red from annoyance. "Anyway! We've wasted some daylight, so let's hurry up and get out of here!"

"HELL YEAH! FINALLY!" Naruto cheered loudly in excitement.

"Oh, this'll be exciting. I always love traveling, especially with company!" Yen stated, nearly as excited as the boy next to him.

The two blondes hurried off outside the gates of Konoha, heading towards their mission. Hinata, Shikamaru, and Anko watched the two speed off in silence. Anko was the one to break the silence with a sigh.

"I forgot what it's like to deal with clients like this. Kill me now." She grumbled to herself as she started to walk off. Her two genin started to follow her.

"He s-seems nice though..." Hinata noted, quietly.

"Oh he is: he's very polite. But he doesn't shut up. I've only known him since yesterday afternoon and I've already heard his voice too much!" Anko complained.

"Just what we need: another loud-mouth blonde." Shikamaru noted with a sigh, slightly joking and slightly serious.

When the three Konoha shinobi made their way out of the gates, they noticed that Naruto and Yen were standing off to the side of the road. Naruto was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly while Yen was looking down in embarrassment.

"Forgive me, Konoha shinobi. In my haste to leave, I had forgotten to check a map on which way Kusa no Kuni is." The merchant informed them sadly.

"Yeah...um...what way we are going?" Naruto asked, voicing his and the merchant's concerns.

Hinata sweat dropped, Shikamaru gave off a sigh, and Anko face palmed.

_'That's another thing wrong with the client: he's impulsive and scatterbrained. Just like another blonde I'm in charge of..._' Anko moaned inwardly.

"...just follow me." The purple haired woman informed everyone present as she started off on the path towards Kusa no Kuni.

The three genin and the merchant nodded in response and followed behind. Team Three's first C-Rank mission had now officially begun!

* * *

An hour had passed since Team Three had left the gates of Konoha. They were currently on the road to reach Kusa no Kuni. According to Anko's map and memory, they should reach Kusa no Kuni on their third or fourth day, depending on their speed, and reach the Tenchi bridge one day later.

The tokubetsu jonin was currently conversing with Yen. The woman did not seem to happy to be talking to him and answering all of his questions, but she was making an effort to be polite and respond to them.

The two adults reached a conclusion to their conversation. Hinata decided to take this time to get to know her client.

"S-So Yen-San, did you enjoy Hi no Kuni while you were here?" She asked the merchant.

"I did indeed, Hinata-Sama. Your country is very beautiful." Yen complimented with a smile.

Hinata was about to respond, further questioning about his time here, but was cut off by the loud voice of her crush.

"Hey, Yen-San, why do you add sama to our names? I mean...you're our client. You shouldn't really be calling us that...not that I mind or anything!" Naruto asked, rushing his last statement in hopes of not offending. He was just simply confused.

"On the contrary, you all deserve the title, Naruto-Sama. After all, you are shinobi!" The merchant informed him as if it was a simple concept. "Sure, I'm paying you all and you're working for me, but you are protecting me! You all have the power to do that, something I don't have. That's what makes you worthy of that title! You are all stronger than me and are protecting me."

Hinata couldn't help but blush at the merchant's praise. Surprisingly, neither could Naruto. The boy had never been praised as much from someone he had just met. He had a large grin on his face.

"From what I've heard, most clients don't think as highly of us as you do, Yen-San. Your belief says a lot about your character." Shikamaru noted with a smile of his own. From the stories he has heard from his parents and his dad's teammates, he had heard a lot about the 'awful', 'horrible', and 'condescending' clients who call for escort missions.

_'Thankfully he's not a pain in the ass.'_ Shikamaru inwardly sighed in relief.

"As you can tell from my outfit, respect is very important to me." Yen declared, pointing to the kanji on the back of his shirt. "My parents taught me to give the proper respect to everyone that they deserve, and that's what I do!"

Comfortable silence filled the air after his words. The Konoha shinobi, even Anko, seemed very pleased with the man's ideology and statements.

The silence was soon broken, though, as Yen started to speak.

"If you don't mind, may I ask you three a few questions about being shinobi?" He asked them. "I've discussed most of these questions with Anko-Sama, but I'm interested in hearing from the perspective of a genin squad."

"Sure." Hinata stated politely for her and her friends.

_'Oh, you fools. You know not what you are doing.'_ Anko sang in her head. She remembered all the questions Yen had for her the day before and just before he started to talk to her genin. She had an idea on exactly what was going to happen.

The tokubetsu jonin's speculation was proven correct. Yen immediately bombarded the young genin with multiple questions. The questions ranged from simple topics, such as information on chakra, the shinobi lifestyle, and the way Konoha is run, to personal questions, such as their reasons for becoming genin, any famous shinobi they look up to, their favorite jutsu they know, etc.

Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru attempted to answer everything the merchant asked. They found themselves overwhelmed by the man's multiple questions.

_'...he talks way too much...'_ Naruto noted, unaware of the irony that he was complaining about someone else talking too much.

_'No, I change my mind. This guy is a pain, just not in the way I expected..._' Shikamaru mentally grumbled.

Despite the internal complaining, the questions continued throughout the rest of the day. They only stopped when the group stopped traveling for the day and could sleep for the night. The genin members were all grateful that Anko was taking first watch, as they wanted to sleep and get some time to relax and sleep after the long question session they went through.

* * *

Day two of traveling began shortly after everyone got up. After a small breakfast that Anko prepared from the supplies she brought, Team Three and their client were off again towards the Tenchi Bridge.

Time passed by. Yen continued to chatter with the four shinobi in his presence, asking them even more questions about Konoha and being shinobi.

After a few hours of walking, the group noticed that a young man was walking down the path going the opposite direction. He gave a wave to the group walking, but seemed to pay special attention to Yen. His eyes were focused on the merchant. Anko noticed this and immediately readied a kunai.

When the group finally passed the man, he made a signal with his hands. At that moment, ten more men jumped out of the forest, each holding axes. All men charged at the traveling group.

"Ah!" Yen gasped in surprise, almost falling to the ground in shock. As if on cue, the man was surrounded on all sides by the members of Team Three.

"Stay calm: we'll handle this. They're just common bandits." Anko informed him as she tossed one of her kunai knives. It landed directly in the temple of one of the bandits, killing him instantly. "Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, defend your client by any means necessary!"

The three genin nodded and immediately went to work. Naruto used the **Fuuton: Great Breakthrough** to blow away two of the incoming bandits. They flew backwards into the forest again, hitting their heads against trees and knocking themselves out. Hinata activated her Byakugan and attacked the chakra network of two incoming bandits. Considering the little amount of chakra they possessed, the two men passed out from chakra exhaustion immediately. Shikamaru activated his **Shadow Possession Jutsu**, freezing two incoming bandits. He dropped the hold just before Anko tossed two kunai at them, killing them. The remaining bandits were handled by Anko, who hit them directly into their heads and killed them all instantly. The young man who signaled for the attack was the only one not unconscious or dead.

"I always find it funny when bandits like you think you can take on shinobi just because you outnumber them. Face it: you made a serious mistake in judgment when you attacked us." Anko told him with a grin as she walked towards him, a kunai raised.

"Y-You shinobi are so cocky!" The man blurted out in a mix of anger and fear. "J-Just you wait. My r-remaining men will f-find you. They're waiting out in the forest later on and t-they'll kill you all!"

"Oh really? Doubt they'll be much of a threat. But thanks for warning us about your friends and their sneak attack. You're a smart one!" The purple-haired tokubetsu jonin laughed. "As a reward, you'll get a painless death!"

The sensei of Team Three immediately tossed her kunai at the man's head. It connected and death came instantly.

"...i-is it s-safe?" Yen mumbled nervously, still in shock from the attack.

"For now yeah. Unfortunately, the guy said there were more weakling bandits. They won't be much of a challenge, but they'll be annoying." Anko noted with a sigh. She then turned to Hinata. "Do you think you can spot them from here?"

Hinata focused her vision further along the path they were heading. As she looked further, she saw three bandits hiding in trees a little less than a kilometer away.

"If you can see them, mind taking them out for me?" The woman asked.

The Hyuga heiress nodded as she took out her bow and arrow set from her backpack. She readied an arrow, aimed, and fired.

The arrow hit one of the bandits straight in the neck. The man, who was sitting in a tree, gasped in pain and fell off of it in shock. His head hit the ground hard, killing him. The other two bandits looked at the sight in shock and immediately fled, in fear of dying as well.

"T-There were three bandits. I f-fired an arrow and killed one. The other two f-fled immediately after." Hinata reported to her sensei.

"Oh thank you! Thank you all so much! I knew there was a reason I needed to request shinobi company. You all saved my life!" Yen informed them gratefully.

Hinata was about to smile back when the reality of what just happened occurred to her. The girl had just fired an arrow and killed a man. She had just killed someone. She had just made her first kill.

Anko, Shikamaru, and Naruto accepted the praise and smiled in response. Hinata, however, started to shake in response. She remained quiet as she started to stare at the ground.

"...Hinata? Hinata-Chan? Are you okay?" Naruto asked.

Hinata didn't say anything. She just continued to stare downward.

"Hinata?" The blonde asked, his concern growing even more.

"Okay, team, let's make a move on! Time's a-wasting!" Anko informed everyone, interrupting the boy's questioning.

Hinata was the first to start walking forward, with Yen and Shikamaru following closely behind. Naruto and Anko carried up the rear, as Anko decided she needed to talk to the boy.

"Naruto, I know you care for her, but let her be for a little bit." She told him.

"Huh? Why? She's not feeling good at all! She needs some help!" Naruto informed her, irritated that his sensei didn't want him to help his friend.

"Naruto...I know what's wrong with her. I've seen that face before. Hell, I remember when I had it! She just made her first kill." Anko explained with sad, understanding look on her face. "Taking a life for the first time is never easy. She's probably beginning to have a lot of mental and emotional pain."

"Well what can we do to help?" Naruto asks, feeling even more concern for Hinata.

"Nothing for now." The tokubetsu jonin stated sharply. "Don't force the issue on her and make her talk when she's not ready for it. It'll just hurt her more. Let her try and come to grips on her own. The most effective thing you can do is give her the space she needs for now and, when she decides she wants to talk, to be her friend and talk to her."

Naruto stood in silence for awhile, thinking about the situation. He had yet to make his own first kill, so he didn't fully understand what exactly Hinata was feeling. He could only imagine the feeling. He wanted to help his friend out badly but he couldn't think of an exact way to do that.

"...fine. I'll wait for her to talk about it." The boy sighed. "In the mean time, I'll try and think of a way to help, or something to say. And I'll just be her friend. Whatever I can do to help her feel better."

The purple haired woman gave a sincere smile at her student's words. "She'll probably talk to you soon. You mean a lot to her. Just be her friend."

With those words, the conversation was dropped. Naruto and Anko hurried up to the group traveling with them. Silence filled the group: even Yen wasn't talking! Everyone remained in their own thoughts. Naruto, especially, spent his time thinking.

_'...I'll figure out what to say. Hinata, I'll help you!'_ He mentally promised to his distraught friend.

After a few more hours, the group set up camp again. Anko had the first watch as her students slept until their turn.

...or tried to sleep. Hinata stayed up all night until her turn, just staring blankly into space.

* * *

"Um...N-Naruto-Kun?"

Naruto woke up from his sleep with a loud yawn. He brushed off his tiredness as quickly as he could and turned to look at the source of his 'wake up call', Hinata.

"I-It's your t-turn to do w-watch..." The girl informed him quietly.

Naruto noticed Hinata revert back to her excessive stuttering and frowned. He wanted to do something to help her, but he remembered his sensei's words from earlier.

"Okay. Thanks Hinata-Chan!" He told her politely as he got up from his sleeping bag and started to look around for any possible threats.

The Uzumaki genin continued his watch for a few minutes until he noticed that Hinata had never laid back down asleep. She remained standing, just staring at him, as if she was debating something within her head.

Naruto realized something then and there. _'...does she want to talk?'_

The boy made the hand signs for his shadow clones, who started to perform his duties of keeping watch. He then walked over to his friend.

"Hinata-Chan?" He asked quietly.

"N-Naruto-Kun?" She responded back, hesitantly.

"You okay Hinata-Chan? What you still doing up?" He asked. Naruto felt he needed to make sure she really did want to talk. He really didn't want to hurt her or make her feel worse than she already did.

"Ah...um...I'm...h-having t-trouble s-sleeping..." She mumbled. "Um...and...well...um...I-I..."

Hinata couldn't continue with whatever she wanted to say. Her tears were starting to come back. She immediately grabbed onto the nearby Naruto and pulled him closer to her as if he was her life support. She then started to cry hard into his jumpsuit.

As if by instinct, Naruto hugged the girl tight against him. He started to rub his hand on Hinata's back in an attempt to calm her down. He didn't say anything. _'She just has to get it all out. She has to let go of all her tears.'_

The two stayed in that position, with no sounds made except for Hinata's crying. After about twenty to thirty minutes, Hinata started to calm down and stopped crying.

"S-Sorry...f-for that..." Hinata apologized.

"Don't apologize for anything Hinata! You can talk to me. You shouldn't be afraid to show your emotions to me!" Naruto informed her, still rubbing her back. "If anyone should be sorry, then it's me. I'm sorry about what happened..."

"...d-don't be." The girl sniffed. "...I s-shouldn't be either. W-We're ninja. T-This is what we d-do. I-It's just..."

"Hinata, although we are ninja, we are also human! It's only natural to feel this way about...yeah." Naruto replied. He didn't want to outright mention the word 'killing'.

"I-It's just...that man h-had a family. H-He had a life. A-And I ended it. I...I-" Hinata continued to sniffle, tears starting to form again.

"Hinata, that man would have tried to kill Yen. He has a family too and a life. You helped keep our client alive!" The blonde stated. He moved his hand away from her back and wiped away some of the tears away. "You helped save a life."

Hinata's sniffling died down. The girl still looked troubled though. Naruto gave it a little more thought before he spoke again.

"We are ninja. We may have to kill people in our line of duty, but we do so to protect others. It could be clients, civilians, our teammates...even each other. We fight to protect everyone around us!" He stated sincerely, giving off a smile. "Hinata, you were strong. You stepped up and helped protect our client. You are a true ninja and someone I'm glad to call my teammate and friend."

The Hyuga heiress's troubled look seemed to completely vanish. She looked over at her crush in complete awe at everything he had just told her.

_'...Naruto-Kun...you never cease to amaze me...you really are a one-of-a-kind.'_ She thought to herself, a blush starting to form on her face again. A smile soon joined that blush as she brushed any remaining tears.

"Naruto-Kun...thank you. Thank you for everything. I don't know what I would do without you..." The girl told him. Her tone of voice was much more relaxed, and much more happy.

"It's no problem at all Hinata. I know you'd do the same for me. And I have no idea what I would do without you!" Naruto replied back with a grin. He gave her one last squeeze before he let go from the hug.

Hinata significantly reddened, finally noticing that she had been hugging Naruto for quite some time now. She was about to say something but her words died when she found herself yawning.

"Heh, looks like you're tired." Naruto pointed out with a more playful smile.

"Yeah...I am. Sleep would be nice..." Hinata thought tiredly.

"Get some sleep Hinata-Chan. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" The blonde told her.

"O-Okay." Hinata replied. She then, pushed to action by instinct, walked over to her crush and gave him a hug. "Goodnight Naruto-Kun. Thank you so much for everything. You really helped me feel better."

The girl then went back to her sleeping bag, leaving a slightly blushing blonde behind. Naruto eventually shook off the blush, gained a large smile on his face, and went back to his watch duties with his clones. He was relieved that his friend was feeling better and back to normal again. Hinata, herself, laid down within her sleeping bag. For the first time in the past few hours, she was smiling. She found it rather easy to sleep.

* * *

Three more days passed by. They had finally reached Kusa no Kuni, but were no done with their mission. The group continued to travel on the road. Their journey didn't end until they reached a medium-sized arch bridge that crossed a giant ravine.

"There's the Tenchi Bridge." Anko told the group, excitedly.

"You ninja are truly extraordinary! Thank you so much for your assistance!" Yen praised the Konoha shinobi happily.

"It's no problem at all." Hinata bowed in acceptance. She then took a close look at the bridge herself and saw figures standing in front of the bridge. "We aren't alone. There are a few other people there at the bridge."

"Most likely the Iwa team." Shikamaru noted.

Naruto groaned at this realization. The moment was finally here: they were about to meet the team from Iwa. They were about to meet the group of ninja that were enemies to Konoha: shinobi from the village that fought and killed many Konoha ninja in the Third Great Shinobi World War.

Naruto remembered all the stories he had heard about Iwa ninjas from the academy teachers and the older orphans who lost their parents in the war. The boy remembered every horrific crime that he heard they performed.

He was not excited at all for this encounter.

The group continued their approach closer to the bridge. As they arrived, the figures were easier to identify. There were three of them standing in front of the bridge and they were indeed Iwa ninja, as identified by their forehead protectors tied on their heads.

The first one was a short, brown haired boy with sunglasses on. He had on a camouflage colored jacket and was wearing brown cargo shorts. The boy seemed to come off rather plain and seemed to almost blend in the area around him.

The second figure was a tall boy with green eyes and black hair that went down to his back. The boy was wearing black pants and a tight-fit red-black shirt that showed off his muscular build. He also had a scabbard attached to his pants, a sword sticking out of it.

The final figure was a girl with short black hair and pink eyes. She was wearing a red shirt that lacked her right sleeve underneath a brown jacket. She also had on fishnet tights underneath a red skirt.

The girl was the first of the three Iwa genin to see the approaching Konoha shinobi. She immediately put on a slight scowl as she rushed over to them. Her teammates followed right behind to meet the Konoha shinobi.

"About time you guys got here. We've been waiting for awhile!" She informed them, her scowl turning more into a frown as she thought about how long she was there.

"Well sorry, we had to make sure we got our client here safe. You know, since that's the point of the mission." Naruto pointed out to her, giving her a scowl of her own.

"Of course it is. We know that you idiot!" She replied. "However, you obviously didn't do that good of a job if you ended up taking this long to get here!"

"Kurotsuchi, save your breath. The Konoha baka probably thought they were making good time." The sun-glasses wearing Iwa ninja informed her with a laugh.

"What'd you say punk?" Naruto shouted, turning his attention to the boy who just spoke.

"Roto was just saying the truth, _Konoha shinobi_." The sword-carrying ninja informed him, emphasizing the words 'Konoha shinobi' as if it was venom.

"Naruto, calm down! Don't start anything!" Shikamaru informed his friend sharply before he snapped at the Iwa ninjas anymore.

Naruto fumed inwardly, glaring at the Iwa genin. He had many things he wanted to say to these three, but he knew that saying anymore could maybe ruin the mission. This would ruin any chances of this mission creating 'peace' between Konoha and Iwa.

"Listen to him: he seems like the smart one in the bunch. Not that it means anything truly special to be smart in Konoha." The sword-carrying Iwa ninja told Naruto.

"While I don't mind a little joking, the Konoha ninja is right. That means you shouldn't antagonize them either Risho!" Kurotsuchi informed him sharply.

Silence seemed to fill the area. The two Iwa male genin, Roto and Risho, were glaring at the Konoha genin. Naruto was glaring back. Kurotsuchi and Shikamaru were looking annoyed by the situation. Hinata and Yen were standing off to the side awkwardly. The Hyuga heiress and the Tsuchi no Kuni merchant were trying to think of something they could do to diffuse the tension.

The ice was broken by Anko, who decided she didn't like the awkward silence.

"Name's Mitarashi Anko, and this is my genin squad. We were assigned the mission of delivering the merchant, Yen, to an Iwa team. I need to clarify that you guys are the team we are handing Yen off to. Do you guys have this scroll?" She asked as she pulled out the mission scroll, containing Yen's request of escort.

"The name's Kurotsuchi. I'm a genin of Iwa. These are my teammates, Kurogane Risho and Yowamusi Roto. We are the genin team assigned to pick up Yen." Kurotsuchi greeted the tokubetsu jonin.

"As for the scroll, our sensei has it." Roto informed her, slightly nervous. He seemed to be trying to show more respect to a Konoha sensei, considering she was probably tougher than him.

"Well, where is your sensei?" Naruto asked, slightly out of curiosity.

"He has more important duties than dealing with you worthless Konoha shinobi!" Risho answered sharply.

"Risho! What did I just say?" Kurotsuchi informed him sharply.

"Worthless? Who are you calling worthless, Iwa scum?" Naruto fired back. He was starting to get fed up with the remarks and was very close to reacting against his better judgment if they continued.

Naruto soon found himself face to face with the sharp glare of the Iwa female. Kurotsuchi was now in front of him with cold eyes focused on him.

"Iwa scum?" She hissed. "I'll keep my fellow teammates in line, but you should keep yourself quiet as well. Don't ever speak that way about my village!"

_'...wait...'_ Kurotsuchi started to study the blonde more closely as she was now in his face. _'...he looks just like the Yondaime Hokage! Is he...no...'_

_'Why is she staring at me like that? Am I some meat to her or something?'_ Naruto wondered, his scowl getting even larger.

_'Damn it! Things aren't going good.'_ Anko cursed, looking at the situation. _'I can feel the tension between them. We can't have any conflict happen...I have to do something!'_

The snake summoner was about to intervene and try and quell the tension when she was stopped. A new figure jumped in between Naruto and Kurotsuchi, pushing them both back away from each.

The new figure was a man wearing red plated armor that covered nearly his entire body. A furnace was attached to the back of his armor and appeared to be letting out steam each second. Over his armor, he was wearing a black gi and had on black gloves over his hands. There was cloth that covered his mouth and the side of his head and he was also wearing a red straw hat.

Anko gasped at the sight of the man. _'Wait...he's the jonin sensei? Well...fuck. I didn't even know he was still an Iwa ninja!'_

"Kurotsuchi, Risho, Roto, I thought you would not antagonize the Konoha shinobi. We wouldn't want to do anything to displease Tsuchikage-Sama, would we?" The man asked his students. His voice was notably cold and distant.

"N-No. N-Not at all s-sensei." Roto stammered nervously, bowing his head in shame. He was actually starting to shake under his sensei's hard stare.

"No." Kurotsuchi simply replied. She looked saddened as she stared into her sensei's eyes. Eventually, she turned over to the Konoha shinobi and bowed. "I shouldn't have let my temper got the best of me. Forgive me."

Naruto was taken aback by this. He found himself unconsciously doing the same thing. "It's fine. I was out of line myself. Sorry."

The blonde then turned his attention over to the armor-wearing Iwa ninja. Naruto was staring at him in complete surprise. The man managed to push him and Kurotsuchi away from each other without them even realizing he was approaching. His very presence also seemed to create fear in his students. _'Just how strong can this guy be?'_

But that wasn't all the Konoha jinchuuriki noticed. He also noticed the man's light brown eyes. In a way, they reminded him a little of his own, only his were more hardened, cold, and distant. Still, he saw the same pain and loneliness in them.

The man noticed Naruto's gaze and stared back. He broke the silence after a few more seconds of staring.

"Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. I am the Iwa jonin in charge of these genin. My name is Han." The man informed everyone.

* * *

**Omake: Teach me _that_ Jutsu**

Day three of traveling was unusually quiet for the group. Unlike the previous two days, Yen was not chatting with the Konoha shinobi. He seemed deep in thought while on the road.

After an hour of silence from the client, the members of Team Three started to feel uncomfortable. They were starting to wonder if there was something upsetting the man. Anko, surprisingly, was the one to finally address the issue.

"Hey, Yen-San. Are you okay?" She asked her client with concern in her voice.

"Oh, I'm fine! No need to worry. Just thinking about something." Yen dismissed her worries with a smile. "...actually, may I ask a question?"

All of Anko's concern went away and was replaced with a feeling of dread. The sensei nodded hesitantly in response.

"...is it possible that you could teach me how to do some ninjutsu?" The merchant asked.

Anko's eyes widened in response. Her genin, who were listening, were equally surprised. Nobody had expected this request from their client! They started at their client, waiting for him to elaborate.

"I was thinking about it since the attack yesterday. If it weren't for you all, I would be dead. So, I was thinking, I should learn how to perform ninjutsu so that way I can defend myself if I need to!" Yen explained.

A mental image appeared inside the merchant's head. He saw himself as a skinner, more muscular man with a forehead protector on that had the symbol for 'ryo' on it. He pictured himself surrounded by bandits, who were about to strike at him with knives. The Yen he pictured jumped up before they could attack and made necessary hand signs. He then unleashed a massive blast of wind that blew all the bandits away to unknown territory faraway.

Yen laughed excitedly at the mental image.

"Er...I guess it's possible. I mean, anyone can become a ninja with training after all." Anko shrugged. "But...well, Hinata, how much chakra does he have?"

Hinata activated her Byakugan and stared at Yen for awhile. She then frowned, not looking forward to explaining her discovery.

"Um...w-well, he d-does have s-some chakra. B-But he has a r-really small amount. N-Not enough to d-do most ninjutsu..." Hinata said quietly. Her stutter worsened, knowing that Yen was not going to like her answer.

The merchant frowned in response. "But aren't there ways to improve one's chakra capacity? That's what I understood from our previous conversations. Maybe you all could help me work on chakra exercises! I could then teach myself various jutsu!"

"Well...I guess. Why not?" Anko mumbled, not really looking forward to the idea.

"Ooh! I know a jutsu he can learn!" Naruto stated excitedly. "I have a jutsu doesn't take any chakra at all really. And it would take down anybody that tried to attack dattebayo!"

"Really? You know a low-chakra style jutsu?" Anko asked, incredulously. "...what one? Why haven't you used it before or said anything about it? Well, Whiskers, show it to us!"

_'...oh God, I think I know what it is...'_ Shikamaru groaned inwardly. He had a feeling he knew exactly what jutsu his friend was going to show.

Naruto smirked at his sensei's request and made a hand sign. "Transform!" Smoke then appeared, covering his body.

_'Transformation? Really? I know it doesn't take much chakra...but that's lame!'_ Anko complained mentally.

The smoke dispersed itself. Naruto was no longer in sight. In his place, a fully nude woman stood there, posing in a provocative manner. A few smoke clouds remained, covering her 'assets', but that didn't change the fact that they could see everything else.

_'I knew it...'_ Shikamaru grumbled as he tried to fight his nosebleed.

_'Naruto-Kun...'_ Hinata frowned and blushed in embarrassment at her crush's antics. He may have been her hero, inspiration, and crush, but that did not mean she had to like this jutsu of his. _'Why do you know this?'_

Anko and Yen made no comments. They merely stared in surprise. Anko broke from her stupor first and immediately smacked Naruto across the head. The impact Naruto's transformation away. He groaned in pain, which only got louder when Anko smacked him again.

"First time was for using such a stupid jutsu! Why the hell do you know that shit!? The second time was for using such a jutsu in front of our client!" Anko shouted.

"Ah..." Naruto grumbled in pain.

Anko then turned her attention to Shikamaru, who she smacked across the head as well.

"Ah!" He hissed, grabbing his head. "What the hell did I do?"

"Nosebleed. You stared for too long and enjoyed what you saw." The tokubetsu jonin deadpanned. She then smacked him a second time. "Second time for talking back to me!"

Shikamaru grumbled about 'troublesome woman' while rubbing his head in pain. Anko didn't really pay attention, as she turned back to face Yen. "I'm terribly sorry for my student's jutsu. It was completely inappropriate and I hope that it doesn't change your view on us and Konoha."

Yen still had a surprised face on. A minute after Anko's apology, his face shifted to a more neutral face.

"Naruto-Sama..." He began. His face then shifted into a 'perverted' grin. "...you've given me more reason to want to learn ninjutsu."

Anko blinked in surprise. Part of the reason she was upset with Naruto was because she was afraid his jutsu would make Konoha look 'inappropriate' to their client. To see such a reaction surprised her, but not in a good way.

The woman started to scowl and smacked the client across the head as well. He grabbed his head in pain as well, joining the other two males.

"Perverts. All of you!" She snapped. "...you know, we are taking a small five minute break. Heal your pain, or whatever. I don't care. Just you guys don't bother me right now! Hinata, you come with me though!"

"Eh? W-Why?" The Hyuga questioned.

"Because I can at least tolerate your presence right now. Now hurry up and follow me!" Her sensei responded.

Hinata nodded hesitantly before following her sensei into the woods. Anko continued to storm off for a second, still very irritated at the jutsu and the other guy's reaction.

However, there was a small thought running through her mind. She would never in a million years admit to it, but she couldn't help but think it.

_'...you know, I have to admit it, Whiskers did make a pretty sexy chick...'  
_

_'...I wonder what the guy version of that would like?'_

* * *

**Author's Note: **One day later than intended, but this was a pretty fast update at least :) Anyway, here's chapter seven everybody!_  
_

Ooh, look, another Jinchuuriki. Hmm...I wonder which one Akatsuki is after...looks like you'll just have to wait and see :D I'm so excited for the next few chapters! Maybe it's because it's the very first major sign of diversion from canon...but whatever! I can't wait to write the next set of chapters! :D

Oh, also, I added an omake. Um...what did you guys think of it? I won't do them every chapter, but I have a few that I will add when I get the inspiration. Let me know if you liked it, cause that would probably encourage me to add more every once in awhile :)

On another note, my story has now reached over one hundred reviews, over two hundred favorites, and three hundred followers. Just...wow. Thank you everybody! Your support means so much to me! Thank you! :) I hope you all continue to support, read, review, and enjoy the chapters! You are all great! :D

Anywho...I'll probably head out now. Remember to inform me of any criticism or your opinions :) I'll see you all next chapter! Until then :)


	8. The Iwa Shinobi

**Disclaimer: My absence was actually me enacting a plan that would let me obtain the rights to the Naruto franchise. Sadly, the plan failed. I lack possession of a certain blonde-haired ninja and the world around him :( Oh well...I'll try again later! **_  
_

**Author's Note:** I'm going to make this quick, because you have people been waiting for an update for far too long. I am terribly sorry about the long break! :( Real life stuff came up, along with college requiring a lot more work. I'm sorry once again for making you all wait so long! :( However, I am back and better than ever! I'll be back on a better updating schedule! I promise :) Anywho...not keeping you guys any longer. Please read and enjoy! :)

* * *

_"Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. I am the Iwa jonin in charge of these genin. My name is Han."_

Introductions were made quickly for the new figure, Han. The Konoha shinobi noticed that the man didn't seem to really care about their names, but they continued to introduce themselves. He waited patiently for them to finish before he started to speak.

"Well, with that taken care of, let's get down to business." Han declared as he pulled out a scroll and showed it to the group. "As you can see, we are the team assigned to escort the merchant, Yen, back to his home."

"Yes, I can see." Anko nodded. The woman, usually joking around and relaxed, was uncharacteristically serious and uneasy when speaking to the Iwa Jonin. "Our mission was to ensure our client's safety while we deliver him to you and your team. We can hand him over to your care, now, and complete the mission."

Naruto liked the sound of that. _'First C-Rank done dattebayo! That's one step closer to Hokage!'_ Other than his general excitement, he was also excited to leave the presence of the Iwa shinobi. He would miss Yen, but he'd be glad to get away from Iwa.

"Before you leave, though, I would like to make a request to you and your team." Han spoke up again.

Naruto's happiness faded away, replaced with confusion. His teammates looked at the man with similar confusion, wondering what the armor-clad shinobi could be wanting to request. Noticing their stares, he pointed to the sky. The sun was starting to set and it was starting to get darker.

"It's going to be night soon, and it would be unwise to travel late at night in the dark. Dangers lurk around, and when you are escorting someone, you want to make sure the client is always protected. We are going to camp here and I would like to request you all help in looking after Yen-San for this one night. After all, he is your client as well." Han informed the group.

His words caused an immediate negative reaction.

"No way!" Roto exclaimed angrily.

"Surely you are joking Han-Sensei! We can't stay with Konoha shinobi!" Risho shouted, just as angry as his teammate.

Naruto was about to shout back and defend his village but his words died on his tongue as Han started to speak again.

"I don't joke around. Are you two questioning my authority?" He asked the two male genin, turning his eyes towards them. His normal bitter, bored tone of voice picked up a hint of annoyance.

Roto flinched under his sensei's gaze and shook his head nervously. Risho, however, didn't appear to be effected by his sensei's questioning.

"No, I feel you are being rational as always sensei. However, they are Konoha! We can't trust them to watch over the merchant for longer than they have to! I also wouldn't put it past them to kill him now and then pin the blame on us!" He explained loudly.

_'Between the four Iwa ninja, I wonder which one hates Konoha most.'_ Shikamaru thought sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

"Risho be quiet!" Han ordered.

The sword-wielding boy seemed to finally accept his sensei's words. He remained quiet, only silently glaring at the Konoha ninja.

Han turned his head and faced Kurotsuchi, giving her a look that asked her if she had any complains. The kunoichi shook her head.

"Well, my team has no complaints with this arrangement. Is this fine with you?" He asked Anko.

"Yes it is! It makes sense after all and we would like to make sure Yen is okay." Anko stated. She then turned her attention to her students. "This is okay with you guys, right?"

Hinata nodded in affirmation. Shikamaru sighed before doing the same.

"It does sensei..." Naruto answered begrudgingly for himself.

"Then it's decided. Good." Han noted in an uncaring tone, as if he truly didn't care that his proposal was just accepted. "We've already set up camp, so you can all stay with us. We will lead you there. Let's go."

With those words, the jonin started to walk into the nearby forest, not even waiting for the group to follow him. Silence filled the air as the ninja watched him leave until Korotsuchi cleared her throat to grab everyone's attention.

"Well, we all heard what Han-Sensei said. Let's head on over to the camp!" She spoke up.

The remaining members of the group nodded at the kunoichi's words and proceeded to follow the armor-wearing jonin to the camp. During the walk, Risho and Roto would glare at the Konoha ninja. Naruto noticed this and returned their glares with his own. Kurotsuchi seemed to be focused on getting to camp, but would occasionally turn her head to glance at Naruto every few seconds. Hinata looked back and forth between everyone present, visibly bothered by the hostility and trying to think of a way to help quell it. Shikamaru noticed all the eyes and couldn't help but inwardly groan in frustration at all the tension around him.

_'I'm starting to think I may have made a mistake with requesting this mission.'_ Yen thought to himself. The merchant was terrified as he walked quietly. He was unused to the intense tension and hostility in the air. _'I knew Konoha and Iwa weren't on the best of terms, but I thought things were getting better. I guess not...'_

_'Holy shit! There's got to be some way to relieve some of this tension...'_ Anko thought, disturbed as well by the uncomfortable silence.

_'Then again, I really shouldn't care about that. That's expected whenever Konoha and Iwa interact nowadays. What I should think about is what I didn't expect, like why Yuge no Han is here?'_ Anko's thoughts turned back to the Iwa jonin present. The tokubetsu jonin continued to ponder why the man was here and what actions she would have to take due to his presence.

Silenced reigned over the walk...

* * *

The walk, while short in length, was long and uncomfortable for everyone. The tension seemed to intensify with each step.

Eventually, though, the shinobi and Yen reached a simple campsight. A tent was set up and a fire was already lit. They had arrived at the Iwa camp, but only one thing was missing...

"Hey, if this is your camp, then where is your sensei?" Shikamaru questioned the Iwa shinobi.

"Oh yeah, sensei does that. He doesn't spend much time at camp whenever we set it up. He prefers to spend most of his time alone." Kurotsuchi explained. She had a frown on her face, seemingly bothered by her sensei's aloof attitude.

"Han-Sensei isn't much of a people person." Roto added with a shiver.

"Why is that?" Yen asked curiously, trying to learn a few things about this new group he would be traveling with.

"He has his reasons for his behavior." Risho replied. It was the first time his voice wasn't filled with hate and disgust. It was rather deep and seemed to have a sad undertone to it.

Silence filled the group once again. Luckily for everyone, though, that Kurotsuchi decided to try and relieve the tension.

"So, everyone make themselves at home here. We can talk about some chores for all of us to do and then get started on cooking up something for all of us to eat. That sound good to everybody?" She asked.

Everyone nodded and walked over to the fire to sit down and discuss the plan for their night. As they walked over, Risho noticed something about the Konoha shinobi.

"Not that I overly care, but where's your sensei?" He asked them.

"Hmm?" Naruto mumbled in confusion as he and his teammates turned around.

Like Risho stated, Anko was not in sight. She had disappeared from the campsite.

"Strange. She walked with us to camp." Shikamaru noted. "Guess she just vanished."

"Hmph! Lazy senseis wanting the genin to do work." Naruto mumbled in frustration.

Roto couldn't hold back a laugh at the blonde's words. "Yep, leave it all to the genin..." Naruto temporarily forgot about his hatred for Iwa and gave his fellow genin a thumbs up and a nod in agreement.

"It doesn't matter where our senseis are! All that matters is that we look after the client and get preparations for the night done!" Kurotsuchi informed everyone, slightly annoyed. She was used to her sensei being aloof and not caring about camp, so she didn't really care if the Konoha sensei was the same way. "Now, for the tasks! Who wants to go out looking for more firewood with me? Cause we are probably going to need some more..."

The genin proceeded to discuss about the plans for the night and for the camp. The two jonin sensei continued to be missing in action...

* * *

_"Finally! Found him!'_ Anko sighed in relief after finding her target. _'You'd think which such visible armor that he'd be easy to find.'_

When Anko noticed that Han was not at the camp, she left to go find him on her own. The tokubetsu jonin was still concerned about his presence and felt that she should find him and observe him.

After a good few minutes of looking, she finally found the armor-wearing shinobi. To her surprise, he was sitting down on the ground preparing himself a cup of tea in a pot. _'Where the hell did the pot come from? I know he didn't have that when we were talking earlier!'_

The woman continued to watch him as he prepared his tea, looking for any signs of suspicious behavior. The man appeared to not notice her. Only when he finished his preparation of the tea did he address the woman.

"I know you are out there, Anko-San, so you don't have to keep hiding." Han spoke aloud.

Anko cursed under her breath as she got out of her hiding spot. She walked up to the Iwa jonin and faced him.

"Is there any reason you went off on your own after we set up camp?" She asked him curiously.

"I'm not a fan of big groups." The armor wearing shinobi replied simply as he moved the cloth covering his mouth down and took a sip of the cup of tea in his hands.

Anko took the time to actually notice the tea. Her eyes widened when she saw the amount of steam pouring out of it. _'Just how hot is that? Is that even possible?'_

"W-Well, why suggest the idea of camping together then?" The tokubetsu jonin questioned, slightly shaking her head as she turned from the blazing hot tea to the man drinking it.

"It was simply a practical thought. Best way to watch over the client and make sure he is protected." He replied back after taking another sip.

Silence filled the air as the two senseis stared at each other. Han studied the girl with critical eyes. Anko mentally cursed under his gaze, feeling awkward by the silence. She had a lot she wanted to find out from the man and she was having a hard time talking to him for some reason.

_'I'm usually more calm than this! What the hell is going on Anko?'_ She shouted inwardly.

"You obviously have something you want to say or ask me, so go ahead. There must be some reason you were observing me so diligently after all." Han informed her as he sat his tea cup down to pay full attention to the woman.

"I was just curious about a things. That's all." Anko informed him, finally picking up some nerve. "After all, I actually thought you weren't an Iwa shinobi anymore. So I do find it a tad suspicious that you are now a jonin sensei in charge of a mission involving Konoha."

"Oh?" The Iwa jonin now seemed bored with the conversation, as he picked up his tea cup and started to drink again.

"Well, according to Konoha and other villages' information, you vanished after the Third Shinobi World War. No one has seen or heard from you since. That should be impossible, considering the reputation you gathered. Rumors claim that you defected." The woman explained. "The suspicions, I feel, are justified.

"Well, then, you should inform your Hokage to fire his spies in Iwa, as I am still a shinobi there." He replied in the same bored and distant tone. "Not like Iwa truly wants me as one of their shinobi though."

Anko looked at the man with confusion, not fully understanding. Han seemed to notice her confusion and decided to elaborate.

"I'm sure you know of my involvement in the Third Shinobi World War." He stated. "Add that to my status as the Gobi jinchuuriki, and you have a village that wants nothing more than to see me die on a suicide mission."

Anko nodded in understanding, a frown creeping on her face. Han was an infamous ninja from Iwa, and therefore, had been studied by Konoha shinobi. She knew the details of his role in the Third Shinobi World War, as well as his status as the current Gobi jinchuuriki, and felt saddened that he was still hated years after everything. The snake summoner couldn't help but relate.

Han's eyes narrowed on her, as he started to understand her line of thinking. "Don't pity me: I'm not someone who needs it. We are from opposing villages anyway; why not you pity your blonde student instead?"

The purple haired woman's eyes narrowed in response. "So, you know of his status as well?"

He let out a a humorless laugh in response. "Of course I do. I can sense the chakra of his biju even from here. Iwa also never believed the lies Konoha made up about the Kyuubi's death. This conversation just merely confirms it. He's the Kyuubi jinchuuriki."

Han took one more sip of his tea before he spoke again. "Even if we factored all of that out, I can see the loneliness in his eyes. His eyes are filled with the same depression and mistreatment that all jinchuuriki possess." The armor wearing shinobi's voice took a slight change. Disappointment was evident in it. "From what I heard of your village, I thought Konoha would treat its jinchuuriki better. But I guess I shouldn't have expected anything different. You humans are too ignorant to see the difference from a beast and its container."

"You're human too. And so is he!" Anko informed him, confused about the man's words.

"No, I am a 'jinchuuriki'. Not an ignorant human nor a 'demon' like your kind calls us." He told her sharply. "What of the boy? I wonder if he sees himself as a demon because of your village?"

"While not everyone likes the kid, he's not hated by all. I trust him, as does his teammates, and he's special to us. He's no demon and he certainly doesn't see himself as one!" Anko stated sharply. She didn't like the direction this conversation was going and wanted to put in to it.

"Really? Don't worry: it'll come. He's young. He's naive. He'll learn how this world works soon enough." Han replied just as sharply. "And you'll do nothing to help him. Not after future events happen that change your perception of him. After all, you are only human."

Anko glared at the man in front of her. She opened her mouth to rebuff his claims, but was interrupted as Han got up from his spot, picking up the tea pot and his cup.

"If this is all we have to talk about, then I must say we are finished. I'm bored of this." He mentions, a strong sense of finality of his voice. "I'll go check up on our client. If you wish, go look for any threats to his safety. You can be on the look out for them now. I'll take up watch at night, so you can get sleep. Farewell Anko-San."

The man disappeared after speaking in a poof of smoke. Anko stared blankly at where the man was before she started to scowl.

"Well that conversation could have gone better." She huffed to herself. "Well whatever. He doesn't seem like he'll be a threat to this mission. He also shouldn't be too much of an issue, since he seems to have no hatred for Konoha...just humanity in general."

_'Although, that itself does bother me. He really hates people.'_ Anko noted in her head. She inwardly shivered, remembering his cold, bored, distant tone of voice. _'And then I don't like where he was going with that Naruto part...'_

Anko shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She decided it would be a good idea to do as Han suggested and search for any nearby enemies and maybe place some traps. The woman began her mission to ensure Yen's safety. Yet, in the back of her head, she couldn't help but still think of Han's words.

_'...I really hope he and Naruto don't really talk much.'_

* * *

The genin of Konoha and Iwa drafted a plan on activities for the camp. Hinata and Risho were to wait back at camp and watch over and protect Yen. Naruto and Roto were sent off into the forest to a nearby lake and see if they could catch any fish.

Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi decided to go into the forest and collect more firewood for the fire. The two genin were currently scanning the forest ground, looking for good wood to burn.

"Sorry about my teammates, by the way." Kurotsuchi apologized while she and Shikamaru were starting their search. "They are kind of unruly when Konoha is ever brought up."

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows at her sudden apology. "Don't worry about it. I'm sorry about my blonde friend as well. While we are talking about it, though, why do you not hate us as much? It seems the rest of your team wants nothing more than for all of us to die."

"Oh trust me, I'm not overly fond of Konoha myself! I won't deny it. Having said that, I don't have anything against you guys and I also realize that you guys are helping out with the mission." Kurotsuchi explaiend. "Besides, my teammates are more hateful than the common Iwa ninja."

"Oh?" The Nara questioned. This conversation was getting intriguing to him and he felt information about the Konoha-Iwa rivalry could only prove to be useful in the future.

"Well, yeah. Roto comes from a civilian family and they are the most hateful towards anything Konoha of all the people in Iwa. Funny, too, considering they don't even fight or deal with you people." The kunoichi noted with a scoff. "As for Risho, he comes from a clan that has much respect in Iwa as the Hyuga have in your village, so he's very prideful. And his clan had the highest number of deaths in the Third War, so he has a very deep hatred for Konoha because of that."

"So he has that, and probably a gigantic stick up his ass if his clan is anything like the Hyuga." Shikamaru noted sarcastically.

"That too!" Kurotsuchi agreed, actually laughing a little. Shikamaru couldn't help but notice the girl's laugh, but shrugged off the thoughts before they developed. "Anyway, mind if I ask about the blonde...Naruto right? He obviously dislikes Iwa more than you, your other teammate, and your sensei. Any particular reason why?"

Shikamaru noted she was doing the exact same thing that he did to her. Still, he didn't seem to care. _'Not like giving this info would actually affect us.'_

"Naruto grew up an orphan, and the orphanage doesn't promote the best image of Iwa at all. After all, a good portion of kids in Konoha were orphaned in the last war by Iwa alone. Naruto's really sensitive about family, so the fact that your village orphaned the most Konoha kids doesn't sit well with him. That and the fact that he has more pride in Konoha than most ninja." Shikamaru explained his friend's strong feelings.

Kurotsuchi's eyebrows rose at this new information. _'I wonder...'_

"He's an orphan huh? Well I assume his parents didn't die in the war, since our generation had us just after the war!" She noted.

"Probably not. Can't answer that question, though, because I don't know who his parents were." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Hmm, really?" She asked. _'If he was the his child, I'd assume he'd be celebrated as a son of a hero. The fact this his parents are unknown probably proves that he isn't his son. Still, he looks too much like him...'  
_

Kurotsuchi proceeded to stop in their search for firewood and stand still in deep thought. Shikamaru noticed this and studied the kunoichi. After a few seconds, the boy felt himself get worried. _'Why would she be thinking hard about a comment like that? So Naruto's an orphan who doesn't know his parents: so? What relevance does that piece of info have?' _The Nara failed to see how this warranted major thought, so he started to get worried that somehow the information was something he should have kept quiet. _'I don't know why she's thinking about it so hard, but I have to get her distracted!'_

"So, why don't you tell me about yourself?" He asked suddenly.

The pink-eyed girl looked at the boy in surprise, having been interrupted from her thoughts. "Me? Why? What do you want to know?"

"Well, you seem to be the leader of your team when your sensei isn't around, so there's got to be something special about you. And I'm just curious." Shikamaru shrugged, trying to justify the questioning.

The black-haired girl thought to herself for a second if she actually wanted to share anything about herself. She took a look another look at Shikamaru, who was looking at her rather curiously. _'Eh, what the hell? I'm probably not even on the right path with my theory about the boy. For now, might as well enjoy a conversation with someone that isn't one of my idiotic teammates!'_

"Well, I guess the first thing you should probably know is that I'm the granddaughter of Onoki, our Tsuchikage." She mentioned. The kunoichi giggled when she noticed the surprised look on Shikamaru's face. "You think that's surprising? Just you wait, cause I'll be the Tsuchikage soon myself. The old fart will retire soon because of his back and then I'll take the title. Give me five years tops!"

"You seem confident in your abilities." The Nara noted with a smirk.

"Course I am! The person who knows you best and can judge you best is yourself." Kurotsuchi explained. "What about you? You're a Nara aren't you? I assume you're some genius?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Probably, but I really don't want to get myself tested or anything. I'd rather spend my time relaxing and watching clouds."

"Really?" She questioned with a frown. "Guess that makes you a lazy ass."

The Nara groaned. _'Even the girl from Iwa? Ugh. Troublesome. Why does everyone call me that nowadays?'_

The two genin continued their search for firewood, chatting with each other about themselves. What started as an attempt from Shikamaru to stall the girl actually turned out be a fun experience for the two.

It was good to know that bad relations between their villages couldn't stop the two from making a friend in each other.

* * *

"Ah! Come on!" Naruto whined as he pulled back his fishing line. His bait was still visible and no fish was caught.

"Come on. I knew Konoha shinobi sucked, but I didn't know this bad!" Roto laughed, still holding on to his fishing line.

When duties were assigned, Roto led Naruto to a nearby lake to see if they could catch some fish for dinner that night. They had only been out for about twenty minutes, and Naruto had failed to catch anything. This was a strong contrast to the Iwa shinobi to his right, who had already caught two fish in the time.

"Oh shut up! You're just lucky!" Naruto huffed, turning back to the lake and sending his fishing line back into the lake.

"Well then lady luck must really love me, because this seems more than coincidence." Roto noted with another laugh as he continued to stare at the lake.

A minute passed before Naruto started to feel a little tugging. The blonde immediately reacted with excitement as he started reeling in. He forgot about all of his past failures in the lake today and just imagined the delicious fish he was about to bring in to camp.

Said imagination disappeared the second Naruto pulled up his line. Not only was there no fish, but the bait was gone. A fish had eaten it and got away, leaving Naruto empty handed.

"Oh, come on!" He shouted, pounding his hand on the ground near the lake in frustration. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Coming from an outside source, a lot of things." Roto replied. There was more venom and less humor in this statement.

Naruto prepared an argument back for the Iwa ninja but stopped when he noticed the boy's line tugging. The sunglasses-wearing shinobi began pulling in carefully. When he finished bringing his line up, he had found a large fish caught on it.

"Guess that makes number three. And it hasn't even been thirty minutes yet. Lucky day so far!" Roto laughed as he tossed the fish to the pile where his other caught fish were.

Naruto watched the Iwa shinobi prepare his fishing line once again with envy. _'Why am I having such a hard time and he isn't dattebayo?'_ A part of Naruto wanted to be jealous and fume that he was being shown up by an Iwa shinobi. Another part, however, was really wanting to catch some fish and bring some to his team. This part really wanted to learn what he was doing wrong. In the end, the latter part of his mind won.

"Hey...um...Roto." Naruto mumbled, looking down to the ground for a second. Roto turned to the Konoha shinobi and looked at him, annoyed at being disturbed. "Um...can you tell me what I'm doing wrong?"

The boy's request shocked the Iwa shinobi. The blonde, as Roto had seen him, had been stubborn, loud, annoying, and stupid all day so far. To see him asking for help was quite a surprise.

His first initial response was to deny the request, not wanting to assist a Konoha shinobi. Still, he knew that any fish that the other boy caught would only go to the dinner.

"...well, your main problem is you rush. You don't wait long enough, thinking you feel something, and you end up pulling out nothing. I also think you may do too much of an initial pull when you are reeling in the fish. I don't think you actually hook any fish, but you instead just startle it and cause it to get away. That's what I think your main problems are." Roto informed him. "Try it one more time and see."

Naruto nodded and did exactly what the Iwa shinobi told him to do. After getting bait on his line, Naruto tossed in his fishing line and waited, keeping his eyes on the line.

"Now, just wait. Give the fish some time to come over and get the bait." Roto continued to instruct.

Naruto nodded. "You seem to know a lot about fishing."

"I should. It's one of my favorite hobbies after all!" The sunglasses-wearing ninja mentioned.

"Really?" Naruto looked at him, curiously.

"Yup. Why do you think we are fishing instead of hunting for some animal? Cause I'm a fishing pro!" Roto laughed. He looked over at the lake fondly as he prepared his own fishing line. "My Mom and Dad would always take me fishing on some of the lakes near Iwa as a kid. We still go at least once a month. After all the time I've done it, I've picked up a love for it and I think I'm decent at it."

"Wow, that's pretty cool!" Naruto noted, surprised.

"Yup." The boy mentioned as he tossed in his fishing line after his preparations. He waited right next to Naruto for his own fish. For a moment, Roto seemed to forget Naruto was from Konoha, and started to talk personally. "You know, looking at a lake like this always makes me think. I always thought I was going to end up becoming a fisherman one day. I mean, I'm from a civilian family so I have no background as a shinobi in any way. My parents were shocked when I broke the news to them!"

"Why'd you become one then?" Naruto asked curiously. He, too, for a moment, forgot about Konoha and Iwa's feud. Right now, he was just curious about the boy next to him.

"Well, I love Iwa and I want to do my part for the village. The village has done so much for me and my family that I felt like I had to do something back for it, and what better way than defending it!" The boy explained. It was then he realized who he was talking to: a ninja from Konoha. His eyes got a lot harder as he stared at Naruto.

Naruto, however, didn't return the same hard glare. He actually gave him a smile and an understanding nod. "I'm the same way for Konoha. I understand. We just want our village to succeed. And you know, we can help our villages accomplish that dattebayo!"

For the second time in a row, Roto was stunned by something Naruto had said. He was about to respond to it, but was stopped as Naruto felt his fishing line tug.

"Hey, it's tugging!" He cheered.

"Be careful this time. Make sure you actually hook the thing in and reel it in." The boy instructed.

Naruto nodded and took careful note of the other boy's words. After he finally reeled in his fishing line, the blonde was surprised to see a large fish attached to the hook. The surprise soon turned to joy as he took the fish off and held it in his hands excitedly.

"Heh, look Roto! I caught one!" Naruto grinned, holding up his fish proudly.

"Not bad. Not bad...for a Konoha shinobi." He mumbled sarcastically. Truth be told, the boy was impressed by the fish's size. Still, he couldn't help but throw in a dig against Konoha.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, ready to defend his village.

The two boys continued to fish for another thirty minutes before turning back to camp with ten fish. During the time they spent, the two competed against each other and tried to outdo each other. They would make sarcastic and rude comments about each other and the other's village, but the venom in their comments seemed to have vanished. It was all in play and good fun this time. The two boys, perhaps, were on their way to putting the rivalry between Konoha and Iwa to the side...

* * *

Hinata had always been shy and introverted. In recent days she had been getting more talkative and open with the people around her, mostly thanks to Naruto, Shikamaru, and Anko, but she was still rather quiet.

Right now, Hinata was going beyond being 'rather quiet'. Risho and Yen were engaging in conversation similar to the ones she and her team had with the merchant on the first day of the mission. The Hyuuga Heiress had tried to enter the conversation herself a couple of times, but the Iwa shinobi would always interrupt her or ignore any point she made. He was actively ignoring her and trying to keep Yen away from talking with her.

"So Risho-Sama, why don't you tell me a little about your clan? I think I've heard the name before." Yen asked, trying to learn as much as he could about the Iwa shinobi he would be traveling with.

Risho's eyes seemed to have lit up with pride as he started to speak. "I come from the Kurogane Clan, one of the three elite clans of Iwagakure. My clan is held in high regard by all shinobi thanks to our kekkei genkai: the Iron Release. Our abilities have made members of my clan the main force of Iwa's shinobi forces..."

Hinata sighed as she listened in. Risho continued to go on and on about his clan and how 'special' and 'elite' they were. He went in to great detail on the clan head and the well-known members of the clan, and answering questions that Yen hadn't even asked. All of this was told in a very prideful tone of voice. The sad part to Hinata, however, was that this wasn't the first time she dealt with someone like this.

_'He reminds me of some of the other main branch members in my clan...'_ The Hyuga heiress realized with a groan. _'I seriously hope I don't sound like this whenever someone asks me about my clan...'_

"You know, your clan reminds me of the Hyuuga Clan that Hinata's from. They sound just as powerful and respected!" Yen noted to himself, pleased with the comparison. This conversation was proving to be very enlightening to the merchant, as he was starting to be able to make connections and comparisons between the Shinobi villages.

Risho wasn't as thrilled with this comparison. He scoffed loudly before continuing. "Please! The Hyuuga hold no candle to the might of the Kurogane clan. We are an elite that surpasses any clan from other villages, especially ones from _Konoha_ of all places!"

The lavender haired heiress stiffened at his words. In addition to all the excess pride and arrogance, Risho was very keen on saying things to insult Konoha, and by proxy, her. He had no idea that he could be offending her, or if he did he didn't care. Yen would often try and say something polite about Konoha to balance off his hate, but Risho would just shut down whatever he would say. The conversation would then continue, getting even more awkward for Hinata.

_'Please...Naruto, Shikamaru, Anko-Sensei...get over here.'_ She pleaded, hoping to have someone to either talk or to help alleviate the awkwardness.

Hinata's wishes weren't granted for another twenty minutes. Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi came back, holding a couple of logs and chatting amiably. Naruto and Roto also came back around the same time, carrying back the fish they caught. Relief spread over the girl as she was able to converse amongst her friends and not have to listen to Risho talk.

After a few minutes, Roto started to prepare and cook the fish. The ninja and Yen watched, each one staring hungrily at the cooking fish.

"Looks pretty damn tasty, doesn't it?" A voice notes with the same hunger.

Everyone nearly jumps up in surprise as they turn to face the voice. They see Anko standing around grinning as if she had been there the entire time. Naruto wasn't having any of that.

"Where the hell were you Anko-Sensei? And you better damn well not think you are getting any of the fish!" Naruto shouted at her angrily.

"You better believe I am! I'm your sensei, so I order you." She replies with a scoff. "As for where I was, I was scanning the nearby area for any enemy ninja or thugs. You all will be pleased to know that there was a group of bandits around near the edge of the forest waiting for nighttime. So I killed them and set up traps for any other possible intruders. That a good enough explanation for where I was?"

Anko's students gulped at her words. Anko had no problem talking about killing, which sometimes actually bothered the younger, more innocent ninja. Hinata, who still remembered the feeling of taking a life, shuddered the most among the three. Nevertheless, the three didn't say anything about their discomfort. They just listened to their sensei's words and left it at that.

After a few more minutes, the fish was finished cooking. Everyone immediately started to dig into the food. In the middle of the dinner, however, Hinata felt like she had to address something.

"Um...w-where is Han-San? S-Shouldn't he be eating w-with us." She stuttered out nervously to the Iwa ninja.

Kurotsuchi frowned in response. "He spends all of this time by himself. He'll only come back when it's time to sleep, in which case he will take watch for any possible enemy that could attack at night. Otherwise, you won't see him here. He pretty much hates interacting with people."

_'That's an understatement.'_ Anko noted bitterly in her head.

No conversation carried from that point. The shinobi and Yen ate the rest of their fish in silence. By the time they had finished, night was coming around and a figure could be seen walking towards camp. As it got closer, it revealed itself to be Han.

"Han-Sama! There you are!" Yen cheered at the sight of the Iwa jonin. "Where were you all this time?"

"Resting. After all, I am going to be the one to stay up and keep watch." Han replied simply as he turned his head to the genin. "It's late. You should all be getting sleep." The man spoke with a demanding tone.

None of the genin were up to the task of denying his request. The six of them, plus Yen, all bid everyone goodnight before going off to their sleeping bags. Han then turned his attention to Anko.

"You should sleep as well. It's a long ways to Konoha after all." Han informed her.

"Psh! I'm fine. I can stay up with you, or even take your place! I already was scanning for enemies earlier anyway!" Anko informed him.

"No, I'll be the one to stay awake. I admit that I got some rest since the time of our last conversation. Now it is your turn. Go to sleep." Han ordered, staring intently at the woman.

Anko may have been a stubborn woman, but even she knew a battle that she wasn't going to win. With a heavy sigh, she went over to her own sleeping bag and prepared for sleep.

Thirty minutes passed before she, and the others, fell asleep. Han continued to stay up alone: just the way he wanted it.

* * *

Hours had passed and it was now deep into the night. All the shinobi, minus Han, were asleep in their sleeping bags in the camp, with one other exception.

"Ehh...bathroom..." Naruto grumbled tiredly as he got up from his sleeping bag.

The blonde walked in a sleep daze away from camp to do his business. After he had finished, the boy walked back with full intention of going back to sleep.

"Good evening Naruto-San. Having trouble sleeping?"

Naruto's eyes shot wide open in surprise as he started to scan the area for the voice that scared him. It took him a few seconds to find the source of his voice: Han, who was sitting on the ground by the fire with a cup of tea in his hands.

"Uh...h-hey Han..." Naruto sputtered nervously. "N-No, I'm not. I just woke up and had to take a piss..."

The Iwa jonin raised his eyebrows in response to his words. "...I see."

After a little while, Naruto got over the initial shock of running into the man and was now curious about him. The illusive Iwa jonin had kept to himself the entire time at camp, only coming back at night to take over watch for the ninja and sending them to bed. This was the first time Naruto would actually have the opportunity to speak to the man, and for some reason, he really wanted to...

_'Screw sleep, I'm probably not going to get this opportunity again.'_ Naruto concluded as he turned to face Han and spark up some conversation. "Um...s-so how's the watch going? Any enemies found?"

"I have a clone patrolling the area and set up multiple traps in addition to the ones your sensei set up. Needless to say, no, I have not found any." Han answered as he took a sip of tea.

"...oh. That makes sense." Naruto responded dumbly. "Then can't you go to sleep to with all the stuff set up?"

"I'm still keeping watch in case someone got past my clone and through the traps. Besides, I prefer to stay up. I like to watch the stars." The jonin replied.

The armor-wearing shinobi turned his head upward to the skies and let out a sigh. "Look at them. Not a care in the world. Away from the entire world and everything on it. I can't help but be jealous."

_'...that's like a depressing version of Shikamaru's thoughts.'_ Naruto noted in shock.

"So, out of curiosity, how does Konoha treat you? How are they with the fox?" Han asked nonchalantly.

Naruto immediately stiffened. _'How the hell does he know about that?'_

The older ninja noticed his surprise and fright, so he decided to explain. "Relax, I merely sense his chakra from you. I'm a jinchuuriki as well, so I mean you no harm."

Naruto's surprise turned to confusion. "Jinchuuriki?" He repeated the word.

"A demon container." Han replied. Naruto's eyes widened exponentially, realizing what he meant. "Just as you are the container of the Kyuubi, I am the container of the Gobi, or the five-tailed dolphin-horse. We are both jinchuuriki."

Everything started to click in Naruto's head. The loneliness in his eyes that matched his own. The strong desire Naruto had to speak to him. It all made sense now.

"You are just like me..." Naruto mumbled in realization. "...there are people in the world just like me."

"Correct. There are nine of us somewhere in the shinobi world, one for each of the tailed beasts. We are what both humans and demons refer to as jinchuuriki."

"So...then you too...you also had the same kind of life too? Alone...hated...judged..." Naruto asked quietly, repeating some of the feelings he felt growing up in Konoha.

"Yes. An orphan whose parents died long ago, chosen to become the container of the Gobi. I grew up surrounded by the same prejudice and scorn that you were. All jinchuuriki, as long as their secret is known, have." Han mentioned. His normal tone of voice switched to a softer, more saddened tone.

Naruto actually gave a smile as he faced Han. "Well, the feelings got better over time. That's one good thing at least! Still, it feels weird to finally meet someone who understands: someone who actually is just like me."

"Yes, you are correct. It is nice to be around others like us. Humans can't understand us. They never try to after all." The jonin stated bitterly.

Naruto noticed venom in Han's words. The way he said 'human' was equivalent to how Risho and Roto would say 'Konoha', or how Naruto himself would say 'Iwa'. There was deep venom in his words, which took the boy by surprise.

"Is being...a jinchuuriki why your students say you aren't a people person?" Naruto questioned, wanting to know why there was such venom in that one word.

Han scoffed at his words. "Yes, that is correct. What's the point of being around humans? They are hateful, disgusting creatures who look down upon anything that's not like them. They are even against their own kind: such as how our villages hate each other. I don't like associating myself with their kind."

A cold spell shivered down Naruto's spine. Han's words were getting increasingly more sharp and poisonous. The scary part was, though, that Naruto partly agreed with them! He knew many people in Konoha who fit the description Han was giving. They hated him and treated him as if he was below them for being the Kyuubi. They didn't give him a chance: they just hated him. Naruto also realized that Han had a point about hating other enemy shinobi. The blonde himself possessed such thoughts, and he felt increasingly guilty for thinking badly of Iwa shinobi such as Roto. _'Still...'_

"Not every human is like that though! I know quite a few who are different. They are my friends." The boy informed him. As much as he agreed with the points Han was making, he knew many exceptions. His teammates, Anko-Sensei, Iruka-Sensei, the Hokage, Shikamaru's parents...multiple people came to mind when he thought about exceptions. "I also think that with hard work, we can change their minds. We can make them understand us!"

"Humans? Understand? Please. And as for your 'friends', they are only human. They will turn on you one day." The Iwa jonin replied matter-of-factually.

"You don't know that!" Naruto shouted back, defending the people who accepted him. "Come on, you know not everyone is like that! Don't you have some friends?"

Han turned away from the boy and stared back up to the stars. He took a deep breath before he speaking again.

"I am friends with a couple of horses and another jinchuuriki, a fellow shinobi of Iwa. However, I know that's not what you meant: you mean human friends. Well, when I was your age, yes. Two of them. They were my genin teammates. They were originally afraid of me due to the Gobi, but after a few weeks of training and getting to know each other, they saw me differently than before. They saw me as Han." He reminisced.

"...what happened?" Naruto asked quietly.

"..." Han took a sip of tea before speaking again. "...you are familiar with the Third Shinobi World War, aren't you? The one that made your Yondaime the most hated man in Iwa. Not that I actually hate the man: not any more than I hate other humans."

Naruto merely nodded in response.

"Good. So you know Iwa and Konoha were enemies in the war. Do you know about the Tsuchi no Yama incident?" The older shinobi questioned. Naruto shook his head in response, which caused Han to sigh. "Then prepare for a long explanation..."

"Tsuchi no Yama was the name for an Iwa base near the Tsuchi no Kuni - Kusa no Kuni border near a mountain. The majority of Iwa shinobi were placed there in order to defend the border and prevent any enemy shinobi from getting into our country's border, and by proxy, from getting into Iwa. Many were also stationed there before getting sent to different battleground sites. The base was where I was stationed permanently during the war. I was Iwa's defensive tool during the war." Han explained. Naruto flinched at the way the man said the word tool.

"Our enemies knew how important the base was to Iwa's plans, so they constantly attacked in order to claim it. All attempts failed. I _personally_ saw to that. But that didn't stop them from trying. Eventually, they stopped their direct attacks and switched to using spies. These spies would sneak in and either steal valuable information or find ways in order to sneak enemy shinobi into the base for a surprise attack.

"Konoha sent one infamous spy from the Sarutobi clan. This one...well, we had trouble with him for some reason. We finally found about him and his presence in the camp when it was too late: he had gotten his allies in to the base and they launched their surprise attack.

"I engaged the spy to the best of my abilities. He, however, had apparently been in the base for awhile and had done his research on me and my fighting style. In the battle, he had me on my last rope, near death. I was worried of failing to protect Iwa and losing the base. I was worried that my mistake would give Konoha the opportunity to invade Iwa. I...I was worried for my friends. My fear made me angry and it made me vulnerable." Han took a second to stop his speech. His words started to get slower. "So...the Gobi took advantage of my weakened state and took control."

Naruto's eyes nearly shot out of his head. _'The beast...the Gobi...it took control?'_

It took a few minutes before Han continued his speech. His voice was notably more bitter and disappointed. "With the Gobi's power, I defeated and killed that damn spy. However, Gobi just had a taste of blood and he wanted more. I was in such a weak state of mind that I couldn't fight him and take back control. So the Gobi wreaked havoc in the real world. By the time I was back in control, the Gobi had massacred all of the Iwa shinobi in the base. Everyone was dead."

_Everyone died? The Gobi killed...'_ Naruto repeated the information in head, scared. His thoughts were interrupted by Han continuing again.

"Needless to say, the loss of the base was devastating. It's considered one of the main reasons Iwa lost the war, in addition to your Yondaime. So, a good part of the blame for the loss goes directly to me. Iwa didn't particularly like me before the war. Naruto-San, how do you think Iwa treated me after that?" The jonin asked bitterly.

Naruto didn't have to give an answer: they both knew. _'They must have seen him as more than a demon...'_

"...and your friends?" The blonde asked nervously, remembering how this topic even started.

"Same as everyone else. They turned on me like all of Iwa. I was no longer Han to them. I was that **damn demon HORSE!**" Han shouted out. His eyes lit up red with anger and steam poured out of the furnace on his armor.

Killing intent leaked off Han that made Naruto nearly passed out. He had never experienced anything like this before in his entire life. The boy stared in awe at the man in front of him.

_'He's so angry...so alone. Is this what I could become?'_ Naruto wondered sadly.

After a moment, Han calmed down. He turned to face the frightened genin with softer eyes.

"Forgive me, Naruto-San. I usually have better control over my emotions. Sometimes they can burst out, though." The man informed him as he bowed his head in apology. "I also didn't intend for my words to frighten or upset you. I was just trying to warn you. It's very possible that in a moment of weakness, the Kyuubi could take over your body and the people around you, even your friends, will judge and hate you. I'm just warning you to be careful of the fox and take care of yourself."

"...I...I trust my friends..." Naruto said quietly, as if trying to convince himself.

"For your sake, I hope they can be trusted." Han replied sadly. "Anyway, I recommend you go back to bed. You have a busy day tomorrow I bet."

Naruto nodded and got up quietly. Han bowed and bid him goodnight. Naruto did the same and went back to his sleeping bag.

The boy could no longer sleep. His mind was running rampant with thoughts about Han's words and life.

_'Is that what could happen to me? Will the fox take over? Could that get my friends to turn on me like his did?'_ Naruto questioned. _'Wait...what if I kill them? The Gobi killed many shinobi from Iwa...what if the Kyuubi makes me do the same thing?'_

Naruto remained awake for at least an hour, dealing with his internal thoughts. By the time he was able to fall asleep, he was plagued by nightmares of the future.

* * *

Away from the camp, on the other side of Tenchi Bridge, two men dressed in black cloaks with red clouds on them had set up a camp of their own. Despite how late at night it was, the two men were wide awake.

The first man was a tall, muscular man with tanned skin. He had on a white hood and a black mask that covered his face. The mask had the headband for Takigakure on it, with the symbol for the village having a cut through it. The man was staring into the night sky and the moon intently.

The second man was a little shorter than the first man, but was equally muscular and had a more youthful air around him. He had dark skin, spiky white hair, and brown eyes. He wore a headband for Kumogakure around his neck with the same cut through the symbol as his partner's headband. He was currently fidgeting with a long, silver rod that he had in his hands. The rod had a sharp point at the end and the kanji for thunder was engraved on it.

"Kakuzu, are you sure we have to wait for the morning? I'd want to get this over with already!" The man with the rod mumbled in complaint.

"You are going to have to wait Nasumareta. The leader mentioned framing the Konoha shinobi with the 'disappearance' of the Gobi jinchuuriki, so it would be unwise to attack while they are present. We'd end up killing them as well, which would just make this disappearance suspicious to the world." The taller man, Kakuzu, replied. He seemed to be thoroughly annoyed with his partner.

"I get that, but still. I just wish we could get this over with already! I'm not interested in interfering with the lives of Iwa shinobi. I'd much rather be going after the Kumo jinchuuriki!" The second man, Nasumareta, whined.

"Your hatred for your home village is ridiculous and is starting to get annoying." Kakuzu mentioned, giving his partner a glare.

"Oh come on, don't deny you wouldn't want to do that to the jinchuuriki Taki has!" The white haired man pointed out.

"Maybe, but I will take advantage of that when the time comes on. Now, shut up before I kill you." Kakuzu informed him.

"Like you could." Nasumareta scoffed as he pointed his rod at his partner.

_'Yup, I am definitely killing him. After we capture the Gobi and extract it, I am killing this brat and collecting the high bounty Kumo has on his head."_ The man from Taki noted darkly.

Silence filled the air between the two men for an hour or two. Both men remained awake however, waiting for the first opportunity to strike once Konoha and Iwa separated.

"So, the plan the same one we discussed earlier right?" Nasumareta asked his partner. The younger man had a more serious and darker tone to his voice.

"Correct. I gathered detailed information from my confidants in Iwa and I've learned somethings about Han. Our strategy should be able to dispose of him. We just have to be careful, because he is a careful and dangerous opponent." Kakuzu informed his partner. The older man actually seemed like he was looking forward to this fight.

"I know, I know. No way in hell I'm understanding this guy." The former Kumo ninja agreed. "And his genin and the merchant?"

"They won't garner much price on the black market, but we can always see when we get there. They should be killed as well." His partner replied.

"Understood."

Nasumareta, after speaking, raised his rod up into the sky and pointed it directly at the moon. The man's face picked up a sadistic grin as he stared intently at the moon.

"You know, I take it back what I said earlier about not caring about this. I'm excited! After tomorrow, we're one step closer to peace. We're closer to our control!" He said excitedly.

_"We are one step closer to achieving Akatsuki's goal."_ He exclaimed, emphasizing each word and getting louder. Soon, the younger man burst into laughter at whatever mental image was going on his head.

_'...bipolar idiot. First he was whining, then rational, and now he's raving about peace.' _Kakuzu sighed in annoyance. He was having no second thoughts about his plan to murder his partner.

Still, he couldn't deny his partner's words. Tomorrow was going to be the day where everything changed. Tomorrow was the dawn of Akatsuki.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yup...chapter eight everyone. This chapter took a lot longer to write than I expected, not even counting all the real life stuff that prevented me from writing! :( I'm sorry once again! Let me know if you all like the chapter though!

Next chapter will be written much faster! And it will be a big one too! Let's see how everything goes with it...muahaha :D

On another note: you are all such amazing fans! Thank you all so much for the support you have given me, whether it be by favoriting, reviewing, or just plain continuing to read. You are all so amazing and I continue to write for you guys! Keep being awesome everybody! :)

Time to get back to homework and stuff! I'll be working on chapter nine as well! :D Until then :)


	9. The Dawn of Akatsuki

**Disclaimer: I'll leave this one short and blunt: Kishimoto owns Naruto. I don't. Sadface :(**

* * *

When morning came, all shinobi went to work gathering their belongings and preparing for their journey back. Both teams from Konoha and Iwa were about to make a long journey and they wanted to hurry on their way to make sure they got back home quickly.

About an hour had passed before both groups were ready to leave. Both sets of Shinobi and Yen were standing right in front of the Tenchi Bridge, ready to part ways.

Han and Anko took out the scrolls with the mission details and traded them, giving each other proof that they had met up. It would also function as proof that Konoha completed their part of the mission.

"I thank you all for your assistance in helping watch over Yen for the night." Han told the Konoha shinobi as he gave them a slight bow.

"It was no problem. Glad we could help out." Anko replied with a bow of her own. Her students did the same.

"Help? How? Not like we actually had a battle that required help." Risho scoffed.

The boy received an elbow and a glare from Kurotsuchi, which kept him quiet for the rest of the time.

"Anko-Sama, Naruto-Sama, Hinata-Sama, Shikamaru-Sama," Yen started to speak out, directing his speech to all the Konoha shinobi, "I would like to thank you all so very much for your protection. I would have most likely died by myself on the way here, and you all were such a joy to talk to. Thank you all so much for taking your time to guard me and I hope to see you all at some point in the future." The merchant than gave a polite bow to them.

"Don't sweat it Yen. We'll meet up again one day." Naruto said with a laugh. "For now, though, just get home safely."

"We'll make sure that happens!" Roto replied with a smirk.

"Ahem." Han cleared his throat. He seemed both bored and annoyed. "It is probably time we head back. It's a long way for both of us, so we should all start back."

"Right." Anko agreed. "Best of luck then on the road. Later!"

"Same to you!" Kurotsuchi replied for her team.

The groups proceeded to head their opposite ways. The Iwa team headed across the bridge on their way to Yen's home in Tsuchi no Kuni. Team Three of Konoha headed back the way they came back to their village.

Neither team were aware of the events that were about to happen.

* * *

The Iwa shinobi and Yen crossed the Tenchi bridge and continued walking down the path back to Tsuchi no Kuni. Not much conversation occurred between the group until a few minutes into the walk.

"So, I think I might actually miss those Konoha guys." Roto admitted to the group.

Kurotsuchi looked at the boy in surprise. Han, himself, rose an eyebrow in shock at the boy's words. Risho, in contrast, merely scoffed.

"I have no clue what the hell that has to do with anything, but really? I thought you'd be stoked like I am to get away from those wimps!" The sword-wielding boy mentioned.

"Well, I mean I still don't like Konoha at all, but they weren't that bad! The Hyuuga girl was quiet, but she was nice. And Naruto actually is someone that was kind of fun to talk to!" Roto stated, defending himself.

Kurotsuchi nodded, a smile on her face. "Agreed. They were all pretty nice. And I enjoyed talking to Shikamaru. It was nice to know that there is another shinobi my age that isn't a complete idiot."

"Hey!" Roto glared in response.

Yen chuckled in amusement as he listened in. One of the major issues he had with yesterday was all the tension and ill-feelings between the Konoha and Iwa shinobi. The merchant was happy to see that the harsh feelings seemed to have lessened, at least a little.

"Psh! You all have no pride in your village!" Risho hissed.

An argument broke out between the Iwa genin, as Kurotsuchi and Roto argued with their angry teammate about pride and Iwa.

Han listened with mild amusement. While the man may despite humanity, he did find other people interesting on occasions. He couldn't help but be interested in the change of opinion in Roto, who was firmly against anything and everything Konoha prior to the mission.

The jonin didn't get too much time to listen and enjoy the conversation, however. A minute later, he sensed something: a rather large source of chakra approaching them at a rapid speed. _'We're under attack!'_

"Everyone, get close to me. Now!" Han ordered everyone.

The Iwa genin and Yen stopped the conversation immediately and followed the jonin's command without a second thought. As they got next to him, Han started to form hand signs rapidly.

**"Ninja Art: Steam Barrier Jutsu!"** He shouted.

Steam shot out the furnace on Han's armor and surrounded the group. As more steam formed, it started to harden into a dome like structure.

"Wh-What's going on Han-Sama?" Yen asked nervously, starting to sweat.

Before Han could even give an answer, a massive blast of lightning struck the dome of steam. It generated a shrieking, explosive noise that caused the genin and Yen to clutch their ears in pain, but the steam prevented any other real damage. After a few seconds, Han released his jutsu and started to make more hand signs.

"Risho, Roto, Kurotsuchi: protect Yen. We have company." He stated as he scanned the area for the source of the lightning.

When the steam disappeared, two figures could be seen approaching the group. Both were men wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them.

"Nasumareta, be more careful. You could have killed the jinchuuriki with that blast!" Kakuzu informed his partner irritably.

"As if. If he really died from that simple blast, then he probably wouldn't be that much help to Akatsuki even with the Gobi!" Nasumareta scoffed. "But as you can see, he didn't die, so it's all moot anyway."

Yen felt himself become extremely nervous. Although he had been attacked before outside of villages, his attackers had only been common bandits. Never before had he had ninja come after him.

"Stay calm, Yen-San. We'll protect you!" Kurotsuchi comforted the merchant while also preparing herself for battle. Roto nodded in agreement with his teammate as he pulled out a kunai with a purple colored tip. Risho didn't even bother looking to the merchant: he merely pulled out his sword and prepared for battle.

"Who are you two?" Han demanded from the two enemy shinobi as he activated another jutsu. Steam poured out his furnace and covered his arms and legs.

Nasumareta only smirked in response. "We're here for the Gobi."

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Anko shouted to her students.

Not long after the Konoha shinobi separated from the Iwa shinobi and Yen, an explosion was heard coming from the opposite direction. The blast shocked the group and caused them to look back, wondering what caused it.

Hinata didn't waste any time activating her Byakugan and trying to find out the source of the explosion on her own. With her doujutsu activated, it didn't take long for her to see what was going on about two kilometers from where they were.

"...I can see two other people walking towards the Iwa shinobi. I think they caused that explosion." Hinata replied as she further concentrated her vision.

After another second of concentration, the Hyuuga heir gasped at what she was seeing. "I...I see lots of chakra being released from Han-San. The other men also have large chakra supplies around them as well. I think they're going to fight now!"

"What?" Anko's eyes widened at her student's report. "The Iwa shinobi were ambushed?"

Naruto and Shikamaru, too, were stunned by Hinata's words. They had just bid farewell to the Iwa shinobi no more than thirty minutes ago. Now, they were being attacked by foreign shinobi?

"...so they're being attacked. What do we do then sensei? Do we go back and help or do we just keep going?" Shikamaru asked his sensei as he stared in the direction where the explosion came from.

At the mention of 'help', Naruto's face grew more determined and focused as if he was mentally preparing himself for battle.

"Well, our mission is done and we aren't necessarily required to help the Iwa shinobi." Anko informed them. _'That, and they probably don't need our help. If any of the rumors about Han are true, he should destroy those attackers in a few seconds tops!'_ She mentally added before speaking again. "Still, I'm kind of curious why shinobi would be going after them. Are they after Yen or just attacking for the hell of it? I wouldn't mind staying in the area for a little bit and seeing how the battle goes. Maybe make a decision later based on that!"

Her three students nodded as they headed back towards the bridge and to where the battle was going to be. They made sure to stay far enough that they wouldn't get involved right away. Hinata still had her Byakugan activated and was watching the area intently, ready to relay any information she saw.

_'...Han...be careful...'_ Naruto inwardly thought as he waited for more information on the situation.

* * *

"...the Gobi?" Yen asked nervously, confused at the words of the two strangers.

The Iwa genin stiffened when they heard what the men were after. Han, however, only rose his eyebrows in response.

"You are after me then?" He asked. His voice sounded almost amused. "And if I were to refuse to go with you two?"

"Refusing isn't an option." Kakuzu spoke up, cracking his knuckles.

"Hmm. Very well then." Han noted as he got into a position to sprint towards them. "It's been a long time since I've sensed such large amounts of chakra. Perhaps you two could amuse me?"

"More than amuse!" Nasumareta smirked as he reached into his cloak and pulled out his lightning rod.

"Er...um..." Yen babbled to himself in fear. He could see what was going to happen.

"Kurotsuchi, Risho, Roto: protect Yen. I will deal with these two." Han informed his students. The trio nodded in understanding as they surrounded Yen and readied themselves to fight if needed.

Nasumareta pointed the sharp end of his lightning rod at Han. The Iwa jonin didn't waste another second: he charged directly at the two attackers with great speed.

In mere milliseconds, Han was right in front of them with steam surrounding his arms and legs. The armor-clad shinobi delivered a roundhouse kick that struck Nasumareta right in the side. The former Kumo ninja was sent flying in Kakuzu's direction, but the older man was able to get out of the way just in time. Nasumareta, instead of hitting him, just landed face first into the ground.

"What speed!" Yen gasped in awe as he stared in amazement at Han.

"Heh, that's our Sensei!" Kurotsuchi noted, a proud smile on her face. "That's his signature fighting style: he uses the steam that he generates from the furnace on his armor to increase the force in his attacks. The steam that surrounds him helps him move at faster speeds and hit harder than pretty much any shinobi!"

Nasumareta pulled himself off the ground quickly and turned to the Iwa jonin with narrowed eyes.

"Damn, you are fast!" He noted, pleased. "This'll be fun!"

"Take this seriously brat!" Kakuzu ordered as he pointed his right hand towards the jinchuuriki. "We are going against not only a jinchuuriki, but a shinobi with a great deal of experience. Fight with appropriate focus!"

Black threads on Kakuzu's hand started to untangle. The hand charged forward towards the jinchuuriki. Han moved out of the way in time and charged forward at the former Taki ninja. Kakuzu raised his left hand and released the same threads within it. When Han appeared in front of the older shinobi, he launched his fist. It made direct contact with his face, knocking him back a little.

_'He actually made a hit on Sensei?' _Kurotsuchi gasped in response. "Han-Sensei!"

"Nasumareta, get rid of those brats. Make sure they don't interfere with our capture of the Gobi." Kakuzu ordered as he moved his hands to surround the Iwa jonin.

"Heh, that'll be easy. They probably won't stand a chance against one of my clones!" The former Kumo ninja replied as he put a hand into his robe. He pulled out a smaller lightning rod. He then tossed the second rod into the air and made a hand sign. **"Lightning Style: Lightning Clone Jutsu!"**

Lightning elemental chakra surrounded the rod. In a few moments, the lightning spread out around the rod and formed the shape of a human. The lightning then disappeared after creating an identical clone of Nasumareta.

"A lighting style based clone?" Roto mumbled in surprise. "I didn't even know such a jutsu was possible! How can lightning take a physical form like that?"

"Very simple actually. All it really needed was a medium to base its shape around." The former Kumo ninja replied nonchalantly before he turned his head back on the genin and faced the jonin that Kakuzu was dealing with.

The lightning clone landed on its feet on the ground, a large grin on its face. It turned to face the genin and Yen and charged at them.

"Ah!" Yen screamed in fear. The merchant's body started to shake.

"Calm down Yen-San. We will protect you!" Roto informed him as he raised his kunai.

* * *

"So what's the report Hinata?" Anko asked her student.

Hinata had not said a word the entire word that she was studying the battle. At her sensei's request, she finally turned off her Byakugan and faced her team to tell them what she saw.

"T-They're fighting yeah. Han-San is currently taking on the two men while a c-clone of one of the two men is attacking the genin. I-It's pretty intense right n-now." Hinata said with a stutter. She was currently surprised by all that she was seeing.

Anko noticed her surprise and decided to question further. "How so? Did you get to see any jutsu? Or just a lot of chakra?"

"B-Both." She replied. "T-The two men and H-Han-San are releasing t-tons of chakra. H-Han-San has used s-some jutsu from steam. One of t-the two men was able to use a j-jutsu to separate his body p-parts and use them as an a-attack. He used it to hit Han-San..."

Anko's eyes widened once again in response. _'From all the reports I've heard, very few people could put a scratch on Han's armor, let alone actually get a good hit on. And from what Hinata is describing about their chakra...these 'attackers' are more than what I thought they'd be.'_

"Anko-Sensei? What should we do?" Shikamaru asked again, still staring in the direction.

Naruto had been quiet nearly the entire time. He had been in deep thought about his fellow jinchuuriki. He remembered in detail the conversation they had the previous night and was thinking about some of the things Han mentioned about his life.

_'Han's always been alone. He hasn't had any real friends since his only ones left him. No one's probably ever done anything for him...'_ Naruto thought to himself.

_'...I bet no one's ever defended him. Well, that's going to change starting now!'_ The boy decided.

"We're going back. We're going to help them." Naruto declared seriously.

"Hmm? Naruto, who is the Sensei here? I don't believe you have the authority to make such a command!" Anko replied in an irritated tone. Sure, she was strongly considering going back to help, but she didn't like it that Naruto was starting to try and take authority.

"Anko-Sensei, they may need our help. Sure, they're strong, but you never know what can happen. I want to help them." Naruto spoke.

Anko, Hinata, and Shikamaru were shocked by the seriousness and determination in the boy's voice. His words actually inspired for his teammates to speak up after a second.

"Naruto's right. I've had a bad feeling ever since I saw the explosion. They may not need it, but I'd rather go back in case if someone went wrong." Shikamaru agreed.

"I agree." Hinata nodded. The stuttering was gone once again as she looked more determined than ever before.

Anko looked at her students in shock and awe. Never before had she seen such focus in genin level shinobi. She doubted she even had that much determination when she was that young. The tokubetsu jonin, after a few seconds, had a smirk develop on her face.

"Well, brats, if you all want to help them that bad, then what are we waiting for? Let's hurry up!" She declared as she sprinted forward.

The Konoha genin followed her lead. In moments, the four shinobi were now on their way, heading towards the battleground.

_'Risho, Roto, Kurotsuchi...Han...be careful.'_ Naruto inwardly thought.

* * *

Kakuzu and Nasumareta surrounded the Iwa jonin, ready to go for in for another attack. The jinchuuriki was currently trapped, tied up in the weird thread that Kakuzu's hands released.

Han appeared to be struggling to get free from the grasp, causing his two opponents to approach with their guards slightly lowered. As they got closer, Han smirked underneath the cloth over his face. **_'Ninja Art: Steam Cannon Jutsu!'_ **He shouted inwardly.

Steam rapidly sprayed out of the furnace on his armor once again. Instead of forming a barrier, however, it shot forward in a straight, single blast at the two Akatsuki members. The two shinobi barely had enough time to dodge.

Han then took the time to move his steam covered arms and break free from the thread trapping. The jonin then charged forward towards Kakuzu, preparing his fist to strike the man.

**"Lightning Style: Lightning Ball Jutsu!"** Nasumareta shouted as he pointed his lightning rod at the Iwa jonin.

Lightning chakra surrounded the point of the rod and formed into a large ball of pure lightning. The ball of lightning was sent flying towards the two shinobi and managed to hit Han's fist, causing a mini explosion. Han and Kakuzu backed up immediately, away from each other.

Han then turned his attention to the former Kumo shinobi. "Out of curiosity, is there any particular reason you are using a lightning rod for your jutsu? Can you not produce lightning without it?"

Nasumareta shook his head. "It's just a good way to have better control over lightning style ninjutsu. It also attracts lightning chakra in the air, and obviously real lightning." The man then started to smirk as he raised it in the air. "I've also developed jutsu that I can use it for, like this: **Lightning Style: Charged Shot Jutsu!"**

Lightning chakra covered the entirety of the lightning rod in seconds, particularly around its point. Nasumareta lowered his rod and pointed it at Han. Rapid bolts of lightning were shot out, each one moving quickly.

Han proceeded to dodge the bolts. Nasumareta started to laugh as he continued to fire the bolts of lightning with no stop. The Iwa jonin continue to dodge to the best of his abilities while trying to get in closer to his attacker. Eventually, Han surrounded himself with more steam and charged forward. He was able to get in before Nasumareta could release another bolt of lightning.

**"Lightning Style: Gian!**" Kakuzu shouted as he approached the group.

Han was once again interrupted from landing a hit on his opponent. Kakuzu launched a straight beam of lightning from his hands that moved forward towards the jinchuuriki. Han was forced to end his attack early and get out of the way, which gave Nasumareta enough time to fire enough charged bolt of lightning at him.

This time, Han activated his **Steam Barrier Jutsu** again. The steam surrounded him and prevented him from taking any damage from the bolt of lightning.

"Yes! Oh yeah, I haven't had this much fun in a battle in forever!" Nasumareta declared excitedly as he raised his rod again to absorb more lightning chakra.

"Glad you're having fun. Good for you that you will die on a happy note." Han replied as he made another hand sign.

* * *

The lightning clone of Nasumareta continued its charge at the Iwa genin and Yen. It took shuriken out of its cloak and tosses the towards them. Risho smirked in response as he got in front of his team.

As the shuriken got closer to the group, the boy raised his left hand. The shuriken stopped moving and remained motionless in air.

"Using weapons like shuriken against me, a member of the Kurogane Clan? Big mistake. Feel the power of the Iron Release!" Risho shouted as he moved his hand forward.

The shuriken turned direction and flew towards the clone at a faster speed. It dodged the shuriken barely before it started to charge again. Risho charged forward as well, gripping his sword tightly in his right hand.

The Iwa genin slashed at the clone. Once again, the clone was able to dodge barely. The edge of the sword's blade rested near the clone's side. Risho smirked in response as he made a hand sign with his left hand.

**"Iron Style: Length Increase!"** He stated.

The sword's blade extended forward at a fast pace, increasing its length. The blade pierced the clone straight though its chest. It gasped in pain before disappearing in a poof of smoke. A log was in its place.

"Substitution?" Risho mumbled as he started to look around.

The clone jumped out of a nearby tree and held out a lightning rod of its own. Lightning chakra collected on its edge and formed into a ball. The clone launched its own **Lightning Ball Jutsu** towards the boy.

Before he could react, Kurotsuchi jumped in front of him. **"Lave Style: Quicklime Jutsu!"** She shouted as she took in a deep breath.

After her breath, Kurotsuchi breathed out quicklime from her mouth. The corrosive gas flew in front of the lightning ball and caused an explosion in the air, canceling out both techniques. The kunoichi proceeded to run towards the clone after making the hand signs and breathing in. She released the same jutsu again, this time aiming for the clone.

The Nasumareta clone attempted to dodge but was burned slightly near its leg. The clone fell to the ground and started to move slower.

It was in this state that Roto decided to attack. The boy immediately chucked multiple kunai with purple tips at the lightning clone. The clone used its lightning rod to block the kunai as it charged at the boy.

**"Ninja Art: Poison Darts Jutsu!"** He shouted as he took a deep breath in.

Roto started to spit out poison shaped like sharp darts at the clone. The clone proceeded to dodge them, only barely dodging at certain points.

"Ugh, if we can get a good hit on it, then we get it dispelled. That way we can go help Han-Sensei." Roto noted as he prepared to launch more darts.

Risho and Kurotsuchi agreed with his sentiments. The three genin were working hard to land one truly good hit on the clone in order to get away and help their sensei.

* * *

**"Lightning Style: Lightning Ball Jutsu!"**

**"Ninja Art: Steam Cannon Jutsu!"**

Nasumareta and Han released their jutsu at the same time. The Akatsuki member's lightning ball charged straight forward at the jinchuuriki's steam blast. The two attacks collided and canceled each other out.

Kakuzu took this time to get in close to the jinchuuriki. He attempted to land a solid punch on the man, but his fist was by the Iwa jonin. Han made sure to have a tight grip as he readied his other hand for a punch of his own. Before he could land the hit, however, Kakuzu undid the thread in his other hand and hit the man straight in the face.

Han backed up in pain for a second. This gave Kakuzu an opening as he made the tiger hand sign.

**"Lightning Style: Gian!"** He shouted. Nasumareta saw his partner make the sign and proceeded to point his lightning rod at the jonin as well.

**"Lightning Style: Charged Shot Jutsu!"** The former Kumo ninja shouted as well,

Two incoming blasts of lightning were released simultaneously from different directions. Both jutsu managed to collide on the stunned Han, causing him to get electrocuted. The jonin screamed in pain.

"Heh, got him!" Nasumareta smirked.

The two Akatsuki members watched the jonin suffer in pain until he started to fade away. Han started to evaporate until there was no sign of him anywhere.

"What the hell was that? A steam clone or something?" The former Kumo ninja groaned as he started to scan the area for Han.

_'This jinchuuriki is even more skilled than I thought. To make a clone and replace himself without either Nasumareta and I noticing...he's definitely an experienced and seasoned fighter like the reports claimed.'_ Kakuzu noted as he started scanning for Han as well. _'Still, I've had experience myself. And I think it's time I finally took advantage of that weakness he ha-'_

Kakuzu never got to continue his train of thought. Han jumped from the trees and attacked the man with a single steam punch. The punch went straight though the former Taki ninja's chest and directly into his heart. Han's bloodied fist was now sticking out from the older man's back.

Kakuzu's eyes stopped moving and his mouth coughed up blood. The steam covered fist had completely crushed his heart. The man was dead now...

"One down." Han noted as he removed his fist from the Akatsuki member. Kakuzu's body fell to the ground immediately after. The jinchuuriki then turned his attention to the other ninja. "One more to go."

Nasumareta blinked in surprise. His eyes moved to his partner for a second before he started to laugh. "Who said to be careful, Kakuzu? Looks like I ended up being more careful than you!"

"...pathetic human. Disregarding your comrade's death and treating it as if nothing happened." Han shook his head, both in disgust and anger. "I think I am actually going to enjoy killing you."

Han charged forward toward the former Kumo ninja. Nasumareta dodged just in time before suffering the same attack that Kakuzu suffered.

The jinchuuriki continued to try and land a single hit on the Akatsuki member. Nasumareta continued to dodge to the best of his abilities, knowing that one hit to the heart would be all it would take to kill him.

Han was so focused on striking at the man in front of him that he failed to notice Kakuzu's body moving.

* * *

**"Lava Style: Quicklime Jutsu!"**

Kurotsuchi released another blast of quicklime straight at the Nasumareta clone. The clone proceeded to dodge the attack, this time not even taking a small hit.

"Damn it, this thing is taunting us!" Kurotsuchi hissed as she made hand signs for her jutsu again.

Her hand signs were interrupted when the clone jumped in front of her and gave the kunoichi a kick to the stomach, sending her flying to a nearby tree. She was caught by Roto before she was made contact with it. The boy's face was staring straight at the clone. He proceeded to spit out his poison darts. Once again, the lightning clone was able to dodge each individual dart as it made its way closer to the two Iwa genin, gripping its lightning rod tightly.

As the lightning clone was about to strike at the two with a close range lightning jutsu, Kurotsuchi made one final hand sign and got out of Roto's grip. She released another blast of quicklime at the approaching clone. The clone canceled its own jutsu and jumped out of the way. The quicklime, however, managed to slightly burn his leg once again.

"Okay, where did it go now?" Kurotsuchi questioned angrily. She was getting really fed up with chasing this clone over and over.

She and Roto scanned the nearby area, looking for any sight of the clone. Eventually, though, they found their sign in the form of a sceam.

"AHH!" Yen screamed in panic.

The lightning clone jumped in front of the merchant, a lightning ball glowing from the top of its lightning rod. It released the ball at the terrified merchant, who was now having visions of his death.

**"Iron Style: Armor of Iron!"**

Risho jumped in front of Risho and the incoming lightning ball and grabbed the merchant. As his hand touched the merchant, the two were encased in a silver-greyish colored iron. The lightning ball managed to hit them both, but did no damage. Risho released his jutsu and the armor faded away, leaving him and Yen completely unharmed without even a single scratch.

"I recall this match was between just you and us: the Iwa shinobi. Don't get our client involved!" Risho snapped at him as he pointed his sword at the clone.

The young man charged directly at the clone, ready to cut it in half.

* * *

_'Just one hit. That's all it will take.' _Han informed himself as he tried to land a hit on Nasumareta.

The Iwa jonin had been chasing the former Kumo shinobi around the battlefield, trying to land one fatal hit on him. Han was motivated to kill this man and he was going to make sure he accomplished just that.

Nasumareta continued to barely dodge all the hits. Each time he dodged, it was getting harder to avoid the next hit. The Akatsuki member was starting to get really tired.

_'I need to stop running already, but it's getting harder to do anything else. I'm not good with all this close hand-to-hand fighting. I need some range dammit!' _He inwardly complained. _'Come on Kakuzu! Hurry up already!'_

After a few moments, Han was able to get a nonfatal punch to Nasumareta's shoulder. The man fell to the ground in pain as Han picked him up with his right hand.

"Well, that makes two. You both were stronger than most humans I've fought, but you are still only human. Challenging me was your mistake." Han informed him as steam covered his left hand.

**"Fire Style: Zukokku!"**

A small fireball was launched and headed rapidly towards Han. The jinchuuriki had no time to react. The fireball hit the back of his armor and erupted into a firestorm that covered every inch of his armor's backside. The fire was able to scorch the furnace on his back. Han immediately dropped Nasumareta and fell to the ground, his furnace leaking a combination of smoke and steam.

Han struggled to get up as the fire started to fade away. As he looked in the direction where the fireball came, he saw Kakuzu still standing. This time, however, the man looked different. He was no longer wearing his Akatsuki cloak. He had on a black shirt and pants with a white belt near hist waste. Every inch of his body that wasn't clothed was covered in the same black thread that his hands were covered in. In addition, three floating masks were floating right by his side.

"What the...you...you should be dead. I felt myself crush your heart..." Han questioned in shock.

"You did. Lucky for me I've got multiple hearts." Kakuzu replied nonchalantly as he pointed to the masks floating by his side. "Also helps me control various different elemental nature, including fire. You're usually more careful around fire aren't you?" Kakuzu then pointed at Han's furnace, which was still leaking steam and smoke. "That steam armor and the furnace are connected to you and are the source of your fighting style. And if that furnace were to overheat, that would complicate things, wouldn't it?"

Han gave no response as he finally pulled himself off the ground. The hissing sound coming from the furnace and the mix of smoke and steam were the only answers the former Taki shinobi needed.

"Just as I thought." The older man smirked.

Han charged towards the main, steam still covering his body. Although he was still quick, he was moving significantly slower than earlier. He struck at Kakuzu's face, but the older man was able to block the attack with his arm. The two proceeded to fight hand-to-hand, blocking the other's fists while trying to land a hit.

"As I thought. Looks like we are more even now. Earlier, this would be impossible with the steam magnifying the strength of your attacks. But you're overheating, and therefore, your attacks are weaker." Kakuzu noted again as he continued to try and hit Han.

"You talk too much." Han replied as he finally found an opening.

The Iwa jonin managed to land a solid hit on the former Taki shinobi. This time, however, Kakuzu was not sent slying backwards. He only inched backwards a little in pain: a strong contrast in comparison to Han's earlier attacks.

Nasumatera took this time to finally attack again. The Akatsuki member released his Charge Shot Justu at Han, releasing multiple bolts of electricity. Han was able to dodge the first few bolts, but was unable to avoid them all. The jinchuuriki received damage, causing him to kneel down in pain.

**"Fire Style: Zukokku!"** Kakuzu shouted once again.

One of Kakuzu's masks launched the same fireball from earlier. The fireball hit Han's furnace, releasing the excess fire once again on his armor. Han fell over once again, his furnace hissing even louder and releasing even more smoke. The man was starting to sweat greatly underneath his armor, in addition to all the pain he was feeling.

_'Damn it. The furnace is overheating way too much. My steam is getting weaker, and therefore, I'm getting weaker.'_ Han cursed. _'Guess I have to switch tactics. Damn, can't believe they are pushing me to this level.'_

_'Then again, they wanted the Gobi. Oh, I'll give them the Gobi...'  
_

* * *

Nasumareta's lightning clone continued to dodge each and every attempt of Risho's to destroy it. The Kurogane Clan genin attempted to cut it down with his sword but missed every strike.

"Damn it, stand still for a second!" He hissed as he attempted to cut it down one more time.

The clone seemed to comply the boy's request. It raised the lightning rod in its hand and it used it to block the sword's strike. It was then that Risho started to really study the lightning rod the clone was using.

_'That thing...I think it's made of iron.'_ Risho grinned as he made a singular hand sign.

The lightning rod the clone was using started to get weaker and rust. Risho's sword was able to easily cut through it. The boy proceeded to try and get another strike at the clone.

The lightning clone proceeded to dodge the attack by jumping over the boy. Kurotsuchi and Roto then jumped over to the area.

**"Lave Style: Quicklime Jutsu!"** Kurotsuchi declared.

The girl breathed out her traditional quicklime attack on the clone. This time, being in the air, the clone wasn't able to dodge it. It took the hit and felt its body burn.

Roto took this time to toss a kunai at the clone. It went straight through it this time, causing the clone to disappear: leaving the lightning rod used as the medium for the lightning behind.

"Finally!" Risho exclaimed.

It was at that point that the lightning rod started to light up once again. The lightning that was used to form the clone was still present and surrounding the lightning rod. The stray lightning was sent flying towards the Iwa genin. The three shinobi were shocked by the blast and were momentarily stunned.

"Ugh!" They all groaned simultaneously, falling to the ground.

_'That was just stray lightning leftover from getting rid of the clone. And it came out, attacked us, and did that much damage...damn. That guy from Kumo put a lot of chakra into that.'_ Roto noted from his pain.

After a few moments of pain, the stunning effect of the electrocution went away and three Iwa genin were able to move.

"Okay, that's done with. Come on, we have to help Sensei!" Roto stated.

"Um..."

The three Iwa genin turned to face their client. Yen was shaking and hiding behind a nearby tree.

"Yen-San, are you okay? You didn't get hurt at all during that battle, did you?" Roto asked, checking up on the client.

"N-No. One of you always by me when I n-needed it." Yen stuttered out.

"Okay, as long as you are fine." Kurotsuchi spoke, relief in her voice. "Now, one of us should stick with you while the other two go help Han-Sensei. Let's-"

The kunoichi never got to finish her speech as the trio all of a sudden felt a massive wave of chakra pass them. Yen nearly passed out in shock while the genin started to shake.

"W-What was that?" The merchant questioned nervously.

_'...is Han-Sensei releasing the Gobi?'_ The students came to the same conclusion. The three turned in the direction of the battlefield where their Sensei was, nervous to find out if their answer was correct or not.

* * *

As Han got up, red chakra proceeded to surround the man. In a few seconds, the jinchuuriki was covered in a cloak of the red chakra, with one chakra tail sticking out of his armor's backside.

"Ha ha! Looks like he is finally using the Gobi's chakra!" Nasumareta cheered as he readied his lightning rod. "Things are going to get really good now!"

"Damn it you stupid brat, focus!" Kakuzu commanded as he focused on the jinchuuriki, ready for any possible action.

Han paid the men no mind for a moment. He breathed in and out, making sure that he was the one in control of his body. After feeling confident that the Gobi had zero influence over him, he turned to face his genin students.

"Kurotsuchi, Risho, Roto: take Yen and leave! This battle has gotten too dangerous for all of your safety, so you four need to get out!" Han ordered.

The three genin seemed to get out of the shock of seeing Han in his chakra cloak. They each simultaneously shook their heads in disagreement.

"Han-Sensei, we can't do that! We can't let you take them on yourself!" Kurotsuchi called out.

"You are genin and I am your Jonin commander: you will do as I say!" Han informed them. "You need to leave and protect the client!"

The three Iwa genin turned to face Yen, looking at him intently. The merchant seemed extremely terrified, more so than earlier due to all the action he had witnessed. He looked awkward and out-of-place. Despite all of these obvious feelings, the man was trying to come off strong and determiend.

"A-Actually, Han-Sama, as the client, m-my authority equals yours in terms of orders." Yen declares with a slight stutter. The man was still coming to try come off tougher than he actually felt. As he continued to speak, however, he started to feel more confident. "A-And...I order them to f-fight with you. I can't, in good conscience, allow you to fight on your own against these villains. I'll put my life on the like you all have, and be unprotected for awhile here if it means that they can fight with you!"

"Yen, you-" The jinchuuriki started.

"Save it Sensei! It would be dishonorable to leave you!" Risho declared as he raised his sword once again.

"We got your back." Roto added as he raised his kunai again.

"We aren't abandoning you Han-Sensei!" Kurotsuchi stated, making hand signs.

Their words surprised Han. His students were disobeying his orders...in order to fight with him and make sure he lives? He was even wearing the chakra cloak of the Gobi, but humans were actually willing to put their lives on the line for him?

"Ah, how touching!" Nasumareta noted with a sigh, his lightning rod lighting up at the point. "Not like it matters if they stayed or not: they were going to die regardless!"

Han finally focused his attention back to the Akatsuki members. "You won't harm them or me! You both will die at my hands!"

"Psh!" Nasumareta scoffed as he pointed his lightning rod at the genin. "You can't stop us! Lightning Sty-"

Nasumareta didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as arrows started flying towards him and Kakuzu. His jutsu was interrupted as he, along with his partner, jumped out of the way.

"Reinforcements?" Kakuzu questioned as he started to scan the area for nearby enemies.

Four figures jumped out of the trees and landed in front of Han. The Iwa shinobi gasped: it was the Konoha shinobi.

"You guys..." Roto mumbled in surprise.

"Looks like Konoha is interfering too. I didn't plan on this." Kakuzu grumbled.

"Doesn't matter; they'll die as well!" his partner replied.

"We were going to frame them with the disappearance though. This makes things complicated." The former Taki shinobi reminded him.

"Eh, whatever. Doesn't matter." Nasumareta shrugged as he took a hard look at the new Konoha shinobi. His eyes seemed to focus on Hinata in particular, however. _'Hmm...those eyes. She's a Hyuuga. And no seal? Unsealed Byakugan huh...'_

"Anko-San, what are you and your team doing here?" Han questioned, once again in surprise.

Naruto was the one to answer, a smirk on his face. "We're here to help. These guys are doing down dattebayo!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Faster, wasn't it? I promised I wasn't going to be that slow ever again and I maintain that promise! :)

Please give me your opinion on this chapter in particular though. I consider this my first true experience in writing fight scenes (sure I wrote those battles between Mizuki and the test Anko gave, but they don't count as much in my mind). Let me know what you liked and didn't, so I can make sure these get better for the future fights to come! :)

Things really are starting to heat up aren't they? And I think next chapter will only get worse...you'll have to wait and see for the conclusion :)

Thank you all once again for your support! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'll see you all for the next update, which I will work on immediately! Until then :)


	10. The Demon Within

**Disclaimer: Let's not talk about how I don't own Naruto. It only depresses me. :( Let's talk about something else…like…I don't know. Anyone else really like pizza? :D**

**Author's Note: **Fun fact! This chapter was finished about four days ago. When I finished though, a mistake happened with my computer and its word. I lost all that I had worked on that day, which was 1/3rd of the chapter. I was so mad! :( But I'm better now. I got the chapter up! :D

I'm sorry for the wait! In addition to that little accident yesterday, school's been really busy. College is not very considerate towards fanfiction writers. The nerve!

On a separate note, I just wanted to let you all know. I decided a format for how I'm going to write the story. I'm going to fix my previous chapters soon and put in the new format (in addition to fix all the errors in the chapters). It's not many differences, but it's enough that you may notice. So, just to let you know.

"Words": Narration/Dialogue

'_Italics': _Thoughts/Flashbacks

"Underlined": Jutsus

'**Bolded':** Tailed Beasts speaking or thinking/people speaking really loud

Only a little bit of that is a change from the other chapters, but I felt I should let you all know. Anywho, I've kept you busy for far too long. So, here's the next chapter! Hope you all enjoy :)

* * *

"_Anko-San, what are you and your team doing here?" Han questioned, once again in surprise._

_Naruto was the one to answer, a smirk on his face. "We're here to help. These guys are doing down dattebayo!"_

The Iwa shinobi looked at the Konoha shinobi in shock. They couldn't understand why Konoha would willingly help an Iwa team under attack. Han was also surprised that another group of people were willing to assist him. After years of despising humanity, he had been helped by two groups of humans one after another. This went against everything he believed!

"Konoha shinobi, this doesn't involve you. Get out of here!" Nasumareta ordered, his eyes glaring at the newcomers.

The Konoha shinobi turned their attention to the two men in front of them. Naruto was, once again, the first to answer.

"Like hell we are going! You guys tried to attack our friends, so you're gonna pay." He informed them.

'_Friends? When the hell did we become friends?'_ Risho questioned suspiciously. He wasn't one to deny assistance when it's needed, but he couldn't but be suspicious.

"Naruto, stand back." Anko ordered her student as she stood in front of her team. She didn't want her student to be the first one these men attacked when the fighting started. "We are here to defend and assist the Iwa shinobi. Now, who are you guys? Why are you attacking? Tell us this and get out of here and we'll leave you both alone."

'_These two managed to make Han use the Gobi's chakra. They must be really tough. I'll need to take this serious.' _Anko noted as she studied the two men in front of her.

"Hmph. Such arrogance. Think you can order us around Mitarashi Anko?" Kakuzu noted in amusement. Anko's eyes narrowed at having her name called out. "If you are going to interfere, than I guess we just have to kill you too. I recognize you from the bingo book and I know what you're worth. You have a decent bounty on your head, so killing you will be worth the extra energy."

The Konoha genin got into position, ready to fight at any moment. Anko got into her own personal stance while she continued to study the men in front of her, trying to identify them.

"We don't really have time to be dealing with both of these teams Kakuzu. Taking on eight targets at once would be a pain." Nasumareta grumbled. "Let's split up the work and get this over with. I'll take the Konoha team and you take on the Iwa shinobi."

"Seems you want the easier job. I'm fine with that though." Kakuzu shrugged. "Just kill them fast. I may need assistance with capturing the jinchūriki."

Naruto's eyes widened at the words. Neither of the Akatsuki members were paying too much attention to him, however, so it went unnoticed.

"I know that Kakuzu. I won't take long." Nasumareta informed him as he walked forward towards the Konoha shinobi.

"You better not." His partner threatened. His eyes turned and focused on Yen, who was hiding behind a tree in the distance. "I'll give you this land as your battlefield. Meet me in the forest when you're done. That's where I'll be fighting."

With those words, Kakuzu charged directly at Yen. The merchant's eyes widened in fear. This overwhelming fear caused Yen to pass out, his hand landing in front of the tree he was hiding behind. The Iwa shinobi realized what the man was doing and immediately chased after him to stop any attack on their client. Anko and her team were about to join them but were stopped as Nasumareta blocked off the way towards the Iwa shinobi.

"Nuh uh, not going to happen. You aren't passing. You're dealing with me!" Nasumareta informed the Konoha shinobi as he continued to study them.

In the distance, Kakuzu ran past where Yen was and headed off into the forest. The plan to separate the two shinobi groups worked, as the Iwa team was still on his tail.

The Konoha team realized that they were going to have to fight Nasumareta. Each member of Team Three got into position again, ready to fight.

"Before we begin, though, are you the current Hyūga heiress?" The former Kumo ninja asked as he focused on Hinata.

The members of Team Three turned to Hinata, wondering why the man wanted to know about her. Hinata was equally confused. "Y-Yes. What about it?"

"I was right then. You're the Hyūga Kumo tried to kidnap years ago, weren't you?" Nasumareta questioned. Naruto and Shikamaru's eyes widened at the information while Hinata was starting to get nervous. "You're a lucky girl that your daddy saved you. Wish my mother had the same luck, but whatever. Looks like your luck's run out!"

Hinata's eyes widened in surprise. It was at this moment that Anko realized something about the man in front of them.

"Ah! Now I remember who you are!" The jonin stated. "Nasumareta, the elder brother to Darui, the current Raikage's right hand. You got a high bounty on your head and a kill on sight from Kumo."

Nasumareta laughed almost maniacally in response. "Bingo! You're looking at the man that will bring Kumogakure to its knees. In just a few years, the clouds will be covered in blood!"

"Wh-What did you mean about your mother?" Hinata asked quietly.

Nasumareta's laughter stopped and his eyes hardened as he glared at the Hyūga. "My mother possessed a rare bloodline limit that Kumo wanted. And unlike you, she had no one to save her from being kidnapped."

"What?" The heiress gasped. "That's-"

"Disgusting? Immoral? Complete bullshit? Hell yeah it was!" The Akatsuki member nearly screamed. "That damn village ruined her life and basically put her in a breeding program. It got too much for her and she ended up killing herself shortly after my younger brother was born. Darui was too young to really understand what was happening, but I knew. I saw it. I saw her body hanging from the ceiling in our damn apartment!" Nasumareta's voice continued to get louder with each sentence as his rage increased. "It's all Kumo's fault, but they will pay! First with their jinchūriki then with their lives! The Akatsuki will ensure that!"

All of the Konoha genin were surprised at the venom in the man's voice. Hinata, in particular, was terrified. _'His mother…could that have been me? If father didn't save me…would I have…'_

"Akatsuki?" Anko questions.

"Anyway, none of that matters. I'm getting way off topic!" Nasumareta stated, calming himself down. The former Kumo shinobi undid his robe as he continued to speak. "We have a fight to do, and I need to kill you all."

Underneath the Akatsuki robe, Nasumareta wore a dark blue gi and pants that clung tightly to his muscular body. Over his gi was a light brown bag with more silver lightning rods sticking out of it. Nasumareta took out a second silver lightning rod and held both of his rods up to the sky.

"Storm Style: Summoning Jutsu!"

Thunder could be heard from the sky above. Lightning flashes were also visible. What once was a clear, sunny sky was replaced with black clouds with visible lightning traveling between the clouds. The thunder continued to get louder each second.

"Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru: stay back and keep your guard up. This guy is way out of your league." Anko informed them as she made a hand sign. "Leave the heavy fighting to me for now."

Satisfied with the storm above him, Nasumareta lowered his lightning rods. He pointed one towards Anko and released a bolt of lightning at her. Anko jumped out of the way as her students backed up to avoid the blast. The special jōnin then faced Nasumareta and took in a deep breath before releasing a giant fireball from her mouth at him.

"Fireball Jutsu? Seriously? What do you take me for?" Nasumareta scoffed as he jumped backwards to avoid the blast. "I'll show you a true jutsu!"

Nasumareta unleashed another bolt of lightning from his lightning rod towards Anko. Anko retaliated with more fireballs. The two shinobi continued to dodge the others' attacks while remaining on the offensive.

Anko's genin students stayed at the edge of the battlefield, watching their sensei fight her opponent in a state of awe and surprise. At the same time, though, they were looking for an opening.

'_If Anko-Sensei can get an opening in, we can take it. We can help kill this guy quickly.'_ Shikamaru noted as his eyes remained glued to the fight. His other teammates were thinking along the same lines.

'_Still…I'm curious about that thunderstorm. What is that Kumo guy going to do with it?"_ He questioned, trying to work out what was going on.

* * *

"Looks like Nasumareta is taking this seriously." Kakuzu noted to himself as he looked up at the sky. "Finally. Maybe he won't waste time and kill them quickly so he can assist me in capturing the Gobi."

The Iwa shinobi looked up at the thunderstorm with caution.

"I don't trust that storm." Han spoke to his students. "Watch the sky for any sudden attacks!"

The three genin nodded in agreement as they got in fighting stances, preparing for the first strike from the Akatsuki member.

"Thanks to you, I'm going to have to take some time to get a new earth heart." Kakuzu informed Han. "Let's get this over with. Lightning Style: Gian!"

The four Iwa shinobi jumped out of the way of the lightning blast, which exploded upon impact with the ground. Han took the time to get close to Kakuzu. The red chakra of the Gobi surrounded his fist as he tried to land a hit on the man. The Akatsuki member avoided it, causing Han's fist to make impact with the ground. Another explosion resulted from the impact.

"I see. So you use the Gobi's chakra in a similar manner to your steam. It's used to increase your strength and speed." Kakuzu noted. "It seems even more powerful than your steam."

"You still talk too much." Han replied as he attempted to punch Kakuzu again. The former Taki ninja, once again, barely dodged the attack.

Han's genin decided to take the time to strike at Kakuzu. Kurotsuchi maneuvered in first, making hand signs. "Lava Style: Quicklime Jutsu!" The corrosive gas flew from the kunoichi's mouth towards Kakuzu. He dodged the blast and then barely avoided a hit from Han. Risho and Roto then came forwards, ready to deliver their own strike at the former Taki shinobi.

"Wind Style: Atsugai!" Kakuzu shouted after making a single hand sign.

Kakuzu's wind mask released a tornado-shaped mass of wind from its mouth. The wind was then scattered around Kakuzu and his masks, hitting everything around them. The Iwa shinobi tried to remain standing still, but were blown back by the blast of wind. While Han was only knocked back a few feet, his genin students were knocked back much further with multiple cuts on their exposed skin. They all hit the ground deep within the forest hard.

"Risho! Roto! Kurotsuchi!" Han shouted at his students in fright.

"Damn brats. Can't let you all gang up on me like that." Kakuzu stated annoyed at what had happened as he made another hand sign. "Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu!"

Two clones of Kakuzu were formed from the water vapor in the air. The shinobi and his clones then charged forwards towards the Iwa genin, ready to finish them off before capturing the Gobi.

Too his surprise, Han jumped in the way and attempted to deliver another chakra filled fist at the original. Kakuzu jumped out of the way while his clones merely turned direction and faced Han.

"Interesting. I'm surprised you would try and defend them. Reports said you didn't care for your students." Kakuzu noted in mild amusement.

"You won't kill them. You are dying here!" Han shouted as he made a hand sign.

Kakuzu only smirked in response, making another hand sign. His clones got into position to charge at the Iwa shinobi. "This should be interesting."

* * *

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

Anko unleashed multiple fireballs flying directly at Nasumareta. The former Kumo shinobi responded by holding up his lightning rods to the sky.

"Storm Style: Shield of Lightning!" He shouted as his lightning rods started to light up.

Blue lightning fell down from the sky and struck the lightning rods. The lightning then spread from the rods and formed a protective shield around the storm user. Anko's fireballs made contact with the lightning shield and faded away immediately.

"You're starting to kind of bore me, you know? I actually enjoy a good fight, so try and entertain me!" Nasumareta taunted as he lowered one of his lightning rods and pointed it at Anko.

The blue lightning surrounding him was immediately channeled into the lightning rod and shot towards the Konoha special jōnin. Anko barely jumped out of the way in time. The lightning caused a massive explosion on the ground, causing debris to scatter and hit Anko. The woman grunted in pain before she got out of the way of the debris and held out her hand. _'Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!'_

Four snakes appeared from underneath Anko's sleeves and shot forwards at Nasumareta. They moved at a speed faster than her fireballs and made contact with the Akatsuki member. Two of them gripped onto the lightning rods and tossed them away while the other two bit into both of his hands, holding him tightly in place. The former Kumo ninja winced in pain. Anko smirked as she pulled her hand back, attempting to drag Nasumareta back towards her.

Nasumareta glared at Anko as he stood his ground. He closed his eyes before he channeled his chakra into his hands. The shock of his storm chakra caused the snakes to let go of his hands, setting him free. The man then reached into his bag to take out two more lightning rods. As he was pulling them out, arrows were fired at him. He immediately jumped out of the way before he turned to face Anko's genin. They were all poised ready to strike at him. Hinata, in particular, had another arrow loaded in her bow.

"Eager to die are you? I was going to kill you three after your sensei was dead, but I'll be happy to kill you all now if you want!" He hissed.

"See if you can!" Naruto replied as he made his favorite hand sign. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The three genin were surrounded by a hundred Naruto clones. The clones didn't waste a second before charging directly at the Akatsuki member. Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru followed closely behind.

"Shadow clones? Interesting. Maybe you'll be fun after all." Nasumareta smirked as he made a few hand signs. He then pointed his lightning rods at the genin and the clones. "Storm Style: Laser Circus!"

Multiple beams of blue lightning were released from the lightning rods and went towards the approaching clones. They made direct contact with many clones, causing them to disappear before they could get close. In mere seconds, half of Naruto's clones were destroyed.

Hinata fired more arrows at the man while Shikamaru threw kunai that had explosive tags attached to them. When Nasumareta noticed them, he stopped his jutsu to get out of the way form the incoming attacks. This gave Naruto and his remaining the clones the opportunity to get in close to the man. The original and his clones all raised their fists and prepared to beat him down.

Nasumareta quickly held his lightning rods up and used his Storm Style: Shield of Lightning. The blue lightning surrounded him before any of the clones landed a successful blow at him. By the time the clones struck, they were attacked by the lightning around him. They were all immediately destroyed. Naruto was sent flying backwards in pain, electricity moving through his body. Shikamaru caught him before he could fly too far back.

Nasumareta dropped his lightning shield and channeled his lightning into his lightning rods. He pointed them at the Konoha genin, ready to kill them. Before he could release the lightning, however, Anko got in close and delivered a punch to his face. Nasumareta fell to the ground and accidently released all of the lightning in a random direction, hitting none of his targets. Anko immediately jumped on top of the Akatsuki member, a smirk on her face.

"Careless, aren't you?" Anko taunted as she made hand signs. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

Anko breathed out fire from her mouth which made direct contact with the man on the ground. Nasumareta's body was burnt to a crisp before it faded away, leaving nothing but a small lightning rod and blue lightning in its place. The blue lightning then charged at Anko. The special jōnin canceled her jutsu and jumped out of the way as quick as she could.

"A clone huh? Damn it!" She cursed before her eyes wandered the battlefield. "Okay, where are you?

Nasumareta responded by jumping out of a tree near the edge of the forest and released his Storm Style: Laser Circus. All the beams of lightning were aimed at the special jōnin.

"Anko-Sensei, look out!" Naruto said as he got up from his position in Shikamaru's arms and made a hand signs. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Naruto breathed out a strong gust of wind that collided with the multiple beams of lightning, causing most of them to fade away. Anko was then able to avoid the remaining beams and join up with her students.

"Looks like you got that jutsu down pretty well. Thanks for the help!" Anko praised her student, a smirk on her face.

Naruto nodded in acceptance before he focused back on the Akatsuki member.

"He seems impossible to hit at close range. He always uses that shield technique to block any close attacks. I'm also too far away to actually use my shadow possession on him. Guess we have to keep up the long range, or make an opening so that one of us can get in and strike him hard." Shikamaru informed his team.

Hinata nodded in agreement. "Shikamaru-Kun and I can keep attacking from a distance. Naruto-Kun and Anko-Sensei may be able to take advantage of any opening we can create and hopefully stop him."

"That's how we have to handle him, yeah." Anko replied. "We're doing good. We just have to keep this up!"

The Konoha shinobi stopped discussing amongst themselves and prepared to strike again. Hinata prepared her bow while Shikamaru reached for more kunai. Anko and Naruto were ready to get in close and strike.

'_Damn them! Every time I'm about to kill one of them, another one intervenes. This is pissing me off! Why does every Konoha shinobi have to act like a frickin hero?'_ Nasumareta grumbled in his head. _'I've wasted way too much chakra already in this fight and earlier. If I actually want to help Kakuzu capture the Gobi, I'm going to have to kill them now! No more playing around: let's finish this.'_

* * *

"Ninja Art: Steam Cannon Jutsu!"

"Fire Style: Zukokku!"

Han released a beam of steam from his furnace at Kakuzu while Kakuzu's fire mask unleashed a gigantic fireball at the Iwa jōnin. The two jutsu collided and created an explosion. As the explosion faded away, the two water clones charged at Han.

Han blocked both clones' fists. He then retaliated with a kick that went straight through one of the clone's body. The clone immediately turned back to water. Han then tried to punch and destroy the other clone, but it avoided the attack. It then got behind Han and held him in a chokehold.

Before Han could react, Kakuzu made hand signs, causing his fire and wind masks to come forward. The two masks then released Fire Style: Zukokku and Wind Style: Atsugai simultaneously. The two jutsu combined and created a massive firestorm that was aimed solely at Han.

The Iwa jōnin was able to release himself from the clone's chokehold and destroy it before the firestorm could reach him. He then made a hand sign, causing more of the Gobi's chakra to appear around him. The chakra then hardened around him as the firestorm struck him. His new hardened chakra protected him from the attack. By the time the firestorm faded away, Han was still standing in the same place. His chakra turned transparent once again and the man began breathing heavily. His furnace was overheating more and his armor had burn marks on it, but not nearly as many as he should have had.

"Oh? So you hardened the Gobi's chakra and use it as a second armor to protect yourself from my attack? Very impressive." Kakuzu noted. "However, you seem very tired. Even more than you were earlier. The technique must have taken a lot out of you."

Han gave no reply. His heavy breathing was enough of an answer for Kakuzu.

"You can't handle much more fighting. It shouldn't take that much before we can capture you." The Akatsuki member stated as he charged at Han again.

The Gobi jinchūriki got into a defensive stance, preparing for Kakuzu's next attack.

Before Kakuzu could reach Han, Kurotsuchi rushed forward from the back of the battlefield. She breathed out her Lava Style: Quicklime Jutsu at the man. Kakuzu jumped out of the way of the corrosive gas. Immediately after landing on the ground, he was flanked by both Risho and Roto. Risho stabbed the man's side with his sword while Roto stabbed him with a kunai with a poisoned tip. Kakuzu winced slightly in pain before he raised his fists, ready to strike down at the Iwa genin. Before he could hit them, Kurotsuchi breathed out another quicklime gas cloud at Kakuzu. The three ninja were forced to jump out of the way, preventing Kakuzu from striking the genin that were at his side.

"Damn brats" He cursed. "It's a shame I have to kill you all now. A few years later and you all might have been worth a high bounty together."

The three Iwa genin hurried over to their sensei's side.

"Are you okay Han-Sensei?" Kurotsuchi asked.

"Yes…I'm fine." Han replied between breaths. "You three…that was great teamwork. Good job."

"Heh. Naturally!" Roto replied to his sensei's praise with a large grin on his face. Kurotsuchi had a similar grin on hers. Even Risho couldn't help but smirk in response.

"Anyway…stay focused you three. We…need to…finish him off soon." Han stated as he got into a position to charge at Kakuzu. His three genin nodded in agreement and got in similar positions.

* * *

"Alright, let's do this." Anko informed her team. "Shikamaru, Hinata: you guys get us an opening. Naruto, stay behind me. Be careful you guys!"

The three genin nodded at their sensei's words before they went with their plan. Hinata and Shikamaru attacked from a distance with their weapons while Anko and Naruto proceeded to get closer.

Nasumareta dodged all of the attacks coming his way. After a few seconds, the man jumped backwards and raised his lightning rods upward. Naruto and Anko stopped their movement, waiting to see what the man was going to do before getting any closer.

"Storm Style: Lightning Rain!" He screamed. The lightning rods lit up once again.

The sound of thunder started to get louder, causing all of the Konoha shinobi to feel pain in their ears. Soon after, multiple bolts of blue lightning rained down from the sky and fell down throughout the battlefield.

"Shit!" Anko cursed as she immediately made a hand sign for substitution. "Everyone, get out of here now!"

Anko's words and her jutsu came too late. The blue lightning struck down before they could react, hitting the Konoha shinobi. All four ninjas screamed in pain before they fell to the ground. Static was visible all around the shinobi.

The four shinobi tried to stand up after the lightning, but each one found out they couldn't. No matter how much energy they put, they couldn't get up.

"W-What's going on?" Hinata asked in a voice mixed with unimaginable pain and fear.

"I…I can't move!" Shikamaru gasped.

"No…no…" Naruto moaned. "Body, come on…"

"Give up. It's useless." Nasumareta replied nonchalantly as he approached the Konoha shinobi. The man was breathing in and out, as if the jutsu he used took a lot out of him. "That technique of mine paralyzes anything it hits. Granted it's only for a short time, but you all will be dead before it fades."

'_Dead? No! I can't die! Not now!'_ Naruto panicked as he tried to get up. _'I can't let him kill my friends!'_

'_Shit. SHIT!'_ Anko cursed as she struggled in her paralysis. _'This isn't how it's supposed to end. I won't let him kill my students! It's my job to protect them and I'll do my fucking job! Come on Anko! MOVE DAMMIT!'_

Nasumareta chuckled. "And despite my words, you all still try to move. Just stop. Relax and try and enjoy your last moments." He said as he walked towards Hinata. "Anywho, I'll start with you Hyūga."

Hinata gasped in fear as her attempts to move increased. She still couldn't move. The girl started to cry, realization creeping over her. _'I'm…I'm sorry everyone…I…I can't do anything…'_

"It it's any consolation, when I kill you, I'm going to destroy your eyes. That way Kumo or any village won't be able to take your bloodline for their own." Nasumareta informed Hinata as he grabbed her by her jacket. He placed the tip of his lightning rod by her throat.

'He's…he's going to kill Hinata. HE'S GOING TO KILL HER!' Naruto nearly screamed in his head as he continued to struggle against his paralysis.

'**Are you going to let him do that? Are you just going to watch him kill her?'** A voice in Naruto's head asked.

'No…NO!' He roared in reply.

'**Then I have a gift for you. Use it to stop him.'** The voice spoke, starting to get louder. An image of the Kyūbi appeared in Naruto's mind. **'Use it…'**

'**TO KILL HIM!' **Naruto and the voice spoke in near unison.

Red chakra formed around Naruto. His fingernails began to develop into claws and his whisker marks became more noticeable. His eyes turned red and narrowed at Nasumareta.

Anko, despite her paralyzed state, noticed Naruto's chakra developing. _'Shit! So it's happening. The Ky__ū__bi is taking over…damn body, move! I need to help my students!'_

Nasumareta was about to slit Hinata's throat when he noticed a new, malicious chakra developing around him. "The hell is that?" He mumbled as he turned his head to face its source.

Naruto was slowly standing up, breaking out of his paralysis. The more he got up, the more his new appearance developed. A red tail of chakra formed after the blonde shinobi was standing up. The Kyūbi had taken almost complete control.

* * *

The Iwa shinobi and Kakuzu were about to continue their fight when they noticed another large powerful chakra source appear. They all turned to face the new source to identify it.

'_That's a powerful source of chakra. Powerful and dark.'_ Kakuzu noted, surprise on his face. _'It's similar to the Gobi's chakra actually. Is one of Konoha's shinobi a jinchūriki? Does one of them have the Kyūbi?'_

'_Naruto…'_ Han realized what was happening. Naruto was pushed too far and had to draw out the fox's power.

"W-What is that? I'm not even a sensor and I can feel that chakra!" Roto exclaimed.

"I'm not for certain. It feels like Sensei's chakra…" Risho mumbled quietly.

"It is. It feels just like it." Kurotsuchi nodded. Her mind was filled with questions and thoughts. _'Does that mean that someone from Konoha is a jinchūriki like Han-Sensei? Who?'_

'_I can sense about one-tail worth of chakra. That's still dangerous, especially since he probably doesn't know how to control the Kyūbi's chakra. I'm going to have to help him before he destroys everything and everyone here!'_ Han thought.

The Iwa jōnin made a hand sign, summoning more chakra from the Gobi. Another tail of red chakra appeared next to the first tail. He then got ready to charge at Kakuzu. _'I have to end this quick!'_

* * *

'_That…no way. He can't break out of that paralysis! No human can!' _Nasumareta's eyes widened in shock. _And that form…is he Konoha's jinchūriki? No…it can't be. Zetsu would have informed us if the Kyūbi was involved with the mission as well as the Gobi! It can't be!'_

Finally free from the paralysis, Naruto wasted no time in charging at Nasumareta with newfound speed. Nasumareta had no time to react: Naruto was already in front of him. The jinchūriki delivered a powerful, chakra-filled fist right in the face of the former Kumo ninja. He was sent flying backwards, dropping his lightning rods and Hinata in the process. The girl hit the ground with a loud thump.

"N-Naruto-Kun?" She mumbled in shock, both from Naruto saving her and from Naruto's current physical state.

Nasumareta landed on the ground near the forest by the bridge. He got up as quick as he could. Naruto was still glaring at him angrily and was poised to attack.

'_No, no! Jinchūriki or not, he must die! I will not let him kill me!' _The Akatsuki member declared as he pulled out two lightning rods from his bag.

Naruto noticed the man's lightning rods. The jinchūriki responded by making hand signs. **"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"**

"Storm Style: Shield of Lightning!"

Naruto released a gust of wind from his mouth. The storm in the sky rained down blue lightning that covered Nasumareta in his protective shield. The wind collided head on with the lightning shield. The two jutsu held each other in a standstill, competing to overwhelm the other jutsu.

'_No…my shield should have stopped that wind on impact. He should not have the power to be able to fight back! It must be the demon in him. He must really be a jinchūriki.' _Nasumareta noted, fear starting to take over his mind. _'I…I've wasted too much chakra in this fight and the fight earlier with the Gobi jinchūriki, and my jutsu's strength is based on my chakra. If this keeps up…then-'_

Nasumareta's thoughts were interrupted as the wind overpowered the lightning. The shield faded away, allowing the wind to him, blowing him back further at a great speed. Nasumareta made direct contact with a tree, knocking the breath out of him. Two kunai knives were then thrown at him, pinning him to the tree. He screamed in pain.

Naruto charged forward. Nasumareta closed his eyes, the outcome obvious to him.

'_Shit…Pein-Sama…I failed…please, destroy Kumo for me…'_ He thought.

The Kyūbi jinchūriki delivered a powerful punch straight into the Akatsuki member. He was sent straight through the tree he was pinned to and any other tree he made contact with. Nasumareta eventually stopped moving backwards after hitting a large rock formation deep within the forest. The man fell to the ground immediately after impact, dead. With its summoner dead, the thunderstorm in the sky faded away.

* * *

Han charged at Kakuzu faster than earlier. The Akatsuki member had no time to react. The Iwa jōnin delivered a punch straight through his chest, crushing another of Kakuzu's hearts. He coughed up blood. Han then removed his fist and delivered a kick that sent Kakuzu crashing back to a tree, causing him to cough up even more blood.

It was after the impact of tree that Kakuzu noted that the thunderstorm was no longer in the sky.

'_This mission just reached its worst possible situation. Nasumareta is dead, two of my hearts are destroyed, and another jinchūriki is here. I could maybe salvage the situation with the Gobi and capture him, but I would be killed immediately by the other jinchūriki.'_ Kakuzu noted as he got up from his position by the tree. He immediately made a hand sign and called his masks back into his body. _'There's no other choice. I need to retreat.'_

Han noticed what the man was doing and immediately charged again. "You're not getting away from me that easily!"

It was too late. Kakuzu used the shunshin and got away in time before Han's attack. The Gobi jinchūriki's fist made contact with the tree and caused it to fall to the ground.

Han immediately scanned the area, looking for the Akatsuki member. _'He's still in the area. I can sense him. I'll hunt him down and kill him before he can get a-"_

The man's thought process was interrupted as he felt the chakra source from earlier increase. _'I'll deal with him later. First thing's first: I need to help Naruto!'_

Han immediately ran towards the direction of the chakra source. His students, all curious about the chakra, immediately followed behind.

* * *

'**That man had a partner. His partner must be out there somewhere. He'll try and kill your friends. He'll try and kill you. You must find him and kill him! Destroy everything in your way until you find him!' **The Kyūbi told Naruto.

Naruto only roared in response, giving his agreement. The boy had no real say in what he was doing. The Kyūbi had taken nearly full control over his body and actions.

As Naruto was preparing to go on his hunt, Nasumareta's paralysis started to fade away in his teammates' bodies. Hinata, Shikamaru, and Anko, who had been struggling to get up, were finally able to stand and get moving. The three Konoha shinobi immediately hurried over to Naruto as quickly as they could. The paralysis was still affecting them, however, causing their movements to be slower than usual.

The three eventually got over to Naruto and were surprised at the sight of Naruto in his one-tailed form.

"N-Naruto?" Shikamaru questioned.

Naruto turned his attention to the Konoha shinobi. Despite the Kyūbi's influence, he was still present. Relief appeared in his eyes, knowing that his friends were okay.

'**They are going to get in the way of the hunt. Remove them.'** Kyūbi ordered.

Naruto was about to walk forward and comply with the Kyūbi's demand before he stopped himself. He grabbed on to his head and started shaking it.

'_No! They are my friends!'_ He replied.

'**They are going to be in the way!'** The fox replied.

"Naruto? Are you okay?" Shikamaru asked his friend.

Naruto's only response was a loud yell. He was trying to fight back the urges to kill his friends.

'_Shit, shit, shit, SHIT! Kyūbi is really taking over. Damn…why is my body not in top condition? Why can't I do anything for my team?'_ Anko cursed herself. She then took another look at her student. _'Naruto, you are tough…fight that damn fox back!'_

Hinata took a slow step forward from her fellow shinobi. Her eyes were filled with even more tears now that she saw Naruto in the anguish he was in.

"N-Naruto-Kun, it's over. T-That man is dead. We are done fighting." Hinata told him as confidently as she could. "It's all over."

'**No it's not. That other man is still alive. She's trying to stop you. Get rid of her.' **Kyūbi demanded.

'_N-No! She's my friend! They're all my friends! I'm not going to kill them!' _Naruto replied back.

As Naruto struggled against the fox's control, Han arrived at the scene. The man wasted no time in hurrying over to Naruto's side. He then grabbed Naruto's head with both of his hands. The two jinchūriki froze immediately in place.

"W-What's going on?" Hinata asked nervously as she stared at her crush and the Iwa jōnin.

Anko and Shikamaru said nothing. They continued to stare at the two jinchūriki as well. After a few seconds, Han's students hurried over to join the group. They, too, watched both jinchūriki stand in place.

After a few minutes, they finally moved. Han fell to one knee while Naruto passed out on the ground. The tailed beasts' chakra faded away from the two, leaving them both without any demonic influence.

"Naruto/Naruto-Kun!" Shikamaru and Hinata shouted in unison as they rushed over to their friend as quickly as they could. Anko followed behind, but gave Han a look.

"What did you do? How did you stop the fox?" She asked him.

"I…I made a mental link…between us and our…tailed beasts." Han replied in between breaths. "The fox…got its first taste of blood in years…and was being unruly. Naruto-San and I…convinced the fox to calm down. It…took a lot out of us though…"

Anko nodded in response before she rushed over to her student's side. She sat with Shikamaru and Hinata and watched over Naruto to make sure he was okay.

Han watched the Konoha shinobi look after Naruto. He knew they had witnessed him in his one-tailed state, but they didn't care.

"_Not every human is like that though! I know quite a few who are different. They are my friends."_

They were just focused on him and if he was okay. They saw him not as a demon, but for he was. They saw him as Naruto.

'_Naruto-San…looks like you were right. There are humans that see you for who you are.'_ Han realized.

"Han-Sensei…are you okay?"

Han then turned his head and saw his three genin students. Kurotsuchi, Risho, and Roto were staring at him just like the Konoha shinobi were staring at Naruto. They were looking at him with concern for his well-being.

"I'm…fine. I…just need rest…" Han told them. The jōnin's eyes started to close and a smile appeared on his face. _'Hmm…looks like I may have people just like you Naruto-San…'_

With that thought, Han passed out from a combination of physical and chakra exhaustion. The battle with Akatsuki was over for now. The Gobi jinchūriki had time to take a well-deserved rest.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Chapter ten done! Yeah! :) Finally!

So…I'm still getting used to writing fight scenes. I really would appreciate more critique on mine. I appreciated all that you gave me earlier! I hope that I can get my fight scenes better for the next ones! Actually, I want to get all my scenes better! Let me know of anything I can do to improve my writing :)

By the way, I have 199 reviews. I think it's safe to say I'll reach 200 with this chapter. Just…wow. I'm honestly stunned by the support. And the amount of favorites/alerts…just thank you all. You all are so amazing! Your support really encourages me to write better and faster! From the bottom of my heart, thank you all.

So…I think that's about it. Chapter eleven will be worked on immediately. My summer break actually is coming soon (less than a month), so hopefully that means I'll be on a much faster writing speed! I'll get right on the next chapter now. Until then :)


	11. Mission Complete

**Dis****claimer: No...just, no.**

**Author's Note: **Faster isn't it? I won't keep you guys waiting: here's chapter eleven!

* * *

The first thing Naruto registered was a bright light. The blonde winced in pain, the light blinding him. Only after a few seconds when the light started to fade did the boy see or feel anything else.

Naruto realized he was lying on grass near a campsite located within a forest. To the far left of his peripheral vision, he could see a bridge, revealing to the boy where he was.

'_Guess I'm still in Kusa no Kuni.'_ He noted. The boy then gripped his head for a second. _'Ugh, my head hurts. How long have I been asleep for?'_

Naruto started to sit up. The boy was now simply sitting in the grass instead of laying down. With his new position, Naruto could now see where he was better. He also was able to see he wasn't the only one in the area.

Hinata and Shikamaru were standing by a tree near the boy. The two were engaged in discussion, having not noticed their friend wake up.

"Shikamaru-Kun, she's a nice girl. You should be nicer to her." Hinata informed her friend.

"Eh, she's nice. But troublesome." Shikamaru shrugged in response. "I'm nice enough already."

"But you could try and talk to her more. She's always trying to talk to you." She said.

"Yeah, to get information about Konoha. She's kind of fun to talk to at times, but I'm not interested in talking about the village every second." He replied.

"Heh, so Shikamaru's got a thing for Kurotsuchi?" Naruto asked, finally making his presence known.

Shikamaru and Hinata immediately stopped arguing with each other and faced Naruto. Both of them had a look of shock on their faces before excitement and relief came over them. They then rushed over to his side.

"Naruto-Kun, you're finally awake!" Hinata cheered with a loud smile. Naruto returned her smile and got up.

"Hey, be careful man. Don't stress your body that much." Shikamaru advised as he bended to help Naruto up further. The blonde just dodged his friend and stood up on his own.

"No need. I'm fine! I feel perfectly fine!" Naruto said before a frown crept on his face. "How long have I been knocked out if you guys are that worried for me?"

"About a little more than a day." A new voice stated.

The three Konoha genin then turned their heads to see both Anko and Han. Han was standing in front of a nearby tree while Anko was sitting on one of the tree's lower branches.

"Anko-Sensei! Han!" Naruto greeted with a wave.

"What's up Whiskers? Feeling okay? Anything wrong?" His sensei questioned.

"You too Sensei?" Naruto sighed. "Other then my head hurting a little, I'm fine!"

"You better damn well be. After all that rest, you should be fine for a while!" Anko noted with a laugh.

"Oh ha ha ha!" Naruto mimicked his teacher's laugh with a scowl. The scowl disappeared almost immediately when he saw the sleeping bags and the campfire. "Are we still by Tenchi Bridge camping out?"

"Correct." Han spoke up. "That fight with those men drained everyone involved: you and me in particular Naruto-San. When I woke up from my unconsciousness, your sensei and I agreed we would camp together for the next three days to give you time to wake up and for everyone to recover."

"…I see." Naruto shrugged. "What day is it now?"

"The first." Shikamaru answered.

"You actually woke up about three hours after Han-Sama." Hinata added.

Her words caused Han to sigh. "Please, don't call me that. I hate it when people give me honorifics. I only barely tolerate 'Sensei' from my students."

"Speaking of them, where are they? And Yen-San?" Naruto asked.

"Troublesome. You ask way too many questions." Shikamaru noted. Naruto scowled, causing the Nara to grin. Shikamaru had missed their daily banter. "Yen-San wanted to go on a walk, and they accompanied him since he needs to be watched. They'll be probably be back in an hour."

The blonde boy nodded in understanding.

"Naruto, I know you probably want to talk to Hinata and Shikamaru, but Han and I need to speak to you alone for a little bit. Won't be long." Anko said. Her students noticed that she didn't use their nicknames, meaning that they were going to talk about something serious.

"Okay." The Konoha jinchūriki replied before he turned to his friends. "Guess I'll catch up with you guys in a second! Be back soon!"

"Okay. Have fun Naruto-Kun!" Hinata said. Shikamaru only gave a wave in response.

With that out of the way, Naruto hurried over to the senseis. They then walked into the forest, ready to converse.

* * *

"So, those guys were attacking because of the Gobi?" Naruto asked out of clarification.

Both jōnin nodded.

"They outright informed me. I think they thought they would capture me and didn't bother to hide behind some lie. And they probably would have been able to capture me if you all didn't assist. Even with my students, the man I fought, Kakuzu, was tough. If I had to keep fighting both him and his partner at the same time, they might have been able to overpower me." Han admitted.

Naruto let the information sink before he sighed in relief. "Good thing we came then dattebayo! And also a good thing we got rid one of them!"

"Yeah, I'm not sure if that last bit matters much." Anko spoke up with a sigh. "Before the fight, Nasumareta, the guy we fought, mentioned something called Akatsuki. I think they may be part of a whole organization."

"They also seemed rather professional when I fought them both. I could tell they were fighting with the intent of knocking me out: not killing me. They had an agenda and seemed to follow it perfectly. I agree with Anko-San: those men were part of an organization." Han stated. "And I think it's safe to say that the other members of this organization are equally strong."

"…" Naruto seemed to get nervous about this information. "…what do you think they want?"

"They outright said they wanted the Gobi. If I had to guess, I'd assume they are targeting jinchūriki." The Iwa jōnin guessed.

Silence filled the air after Han's words. It was finally broken a minute after by Naruto.

"Well, then we just get stronger!" He declared. "I refuse to be captured by them! I'll keep training so when they come for me I can take them out all by myself dattebayo!"

"That's the plan." Han nodded in agreement. "We are targets. We must get stronger and be ready."

"Not just you guys!" Anko interjected. "I'm not gonna let some bastards get a hold of my student, or anyone for that matter! We all have to get stronger so we can kick their asses!"

"That's the spirit Sensei!" Naruto cheered. The mood seemed to have made turned around completely.

"Oh I wouldn't cheer if I were you Whiskers. Training will become ten times more brutal at least. Trust me when I say that." The tokubetsu jōnin replied, a sadistic grin developing on her face. Naruto immediately shut up, now afraid of whatever his sensei was planning.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance as well." Han said. "We have three days right now. I could teach Naruto-San on how to get better control of the Kyūbi's chakra."

Naruto's fear went away and was turned into excitement. The blonde beamed at Han before asking rather quickly: "You can do that?"

"Naturally. Us jinchūriki can draw power from our tailed beasts. I can currently use two tails of the Gobi without losing control." Han mentioned. "I'm uncertain how far we can get in just three days, but I can definitely give you a foundation that will help you get control of the Kyūbi and its chakra."

"If you both are going to train during these days, then you both better take it easy." Anko nearly ordered. "I wasn't going to start any training until we got back to the village. Everyone needs to rest for a while. You two in particular. Take it easy until you both are at one hundred percent."

"The training I have in mind won't take much out of us. You'll see." Han informed her.

Anko simply shrugged in response.

"Anyway, we have plenty of time. Go say hi to your friends, then meet up with me out here and we'll begin your training. Come back in an hour." Han told Naruto. The blonde nodded and was about to start running off. "…but before you go…"

Naruto turned back to Han and gave him a quizzical look. "Yes?"

"Those two friends of yours: cherish them and never leave them." Han nearly ordered. "They never left your side the entire time you were unconscious. They were always within hearing distance if you were to wake at any moment. You made good friends Naruto-San. I'd make sure you keep them."

Naruto looked completely surprised at Han's words. The last time he brought up his friends with the man, he gave a rather cynical speech on how they would turn on him. Now the man was telling him to never leave them. Then it registered what the man said: Hinata and Shikamaru had stayed by his side the entire time he was unconscious.

This surprise soon turned into pure happiness and excitement. "Don't worry, I never will dattebayo! Meet you back here in an hour!"

The blonde then ran back in the direction he came from. He waved to Yen and the Iwa genin, who were back now, and then immediately rushed to Hinata and Shikamaru. He then crushed both of them in a hug, causing all three to fall to the ground. Shikamaru gasped and Hinata nearly fainted.

Anko and Han watched from a distance. Anko burst into laughter at the sight while Han chuckled quietly.

"You've changed Han. A hell of a lot." Anko noted between her laughter.

"I suppose. My opinions on you humans haven't really changed per se: I've just found exceptions." He noted with a smile. In the back of his head, he was thinking of his own students as well as Naruto and his team.

* * *

An hour passed quickly. Naruto told his friends goodbye again before heading back out, deep into the forest. It didn't take him long to reach the part in the forest where Han and Anko talked to him. Anko was no longer there, but Han was. The Iwa jōnin was currently meditating in front of a tree.

Once Naruto had arrived, the man opened his eyes and gave the blonde a look.

"You're punctual. Roto could learn from you." He said with a sigh.

"Anybody could learn from me!" Naruto boasted proudly before he remembered that he was here to learn himself. "Um, anyway, how do we do this? How can I learn to control the Kyūbi?"

"You're interested. Good. Hopefully that means this lesson will stick, because I don't think you'll like it based on your personality." Han noted. "Now, Naruto, the key to obtaining control of the Kyūbi's chakra is meditation."

"…huh?" Naruto questioned in both confusion and disappointment.

Han sighed. "Let me ask you a question: when you summoned the Kyūbi's chakra in the fight, how were you feeling? What emotions were you feeling?"

Naruto put some serious thought into Han's question. His head was still hurting, affecting his memory a little about the incident. He did remember enough though. He felt completely useless and he saw nothing but red.

"…I was angry. Very angry. And I was nervous…nervous that my friends were going to die…" He voiced his thoughts.

The Iwa jōnin nodded in understanding. "You felt strong emotions. These emotions affect you and make it easier for the tailed beast to affect you. Sure, you'll get chakra, but this way results in you becoming little more than a puppet to the beast."

Naruto scowled at this. He did remember that clearly. He remembered how the Kyūbi attempted to kill Hinata. He was grateful he regained control of his body and he was going to do everything in his power to prevent that from ever happening again.

"Meditation will help you keep your emotions in check and help prevent the Kyūbi from taking advantage of your emotional state." Han explained, interrupting Naruto's thoughts. "Also, it will increase your mind and your internal strength. This is the strength you use to draw out the beast's power from within. If you can get your mind strong enough and your emotions calm enough, you'll be able to draw chakra from the Kyūbi with no risk of him taking over…provided that you aren't taking too much chakra."

Han then made a hand sign. Almost immediately his body was covered in red chakra and a tail formed. Soon, a second tail formed. Naruto took a step back in shock.

"As you can see, I have complete control right now. This is my limit: two tails of the Gobi's chakra. It is important that you discover your limit and only stay within it until you can push yourself further." Han explained before he released his hand sign. The chakra faded away almost instantaneously.

"Holy crap! That's so badass!" Naruto exclaimed. He then got into the position he saw Han in when he got to the forest. "So, meditation helps me do it? How do I actually meditate?"

"Close your eyes and relax. Free yourself from the world around you. Don't speak and don't move. Try and control your emotions and find your inner peace." Han advised. "The more you do this, the stronger your inner strength and your mind will be. This should also help with your focus, which can be useful when you're in a general battle as well."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. He took in a deep breath and exhaled it. Han watched over the boy in his meditation in curiosity.

Nearly a minute had passed before Naruto's eyes opened and a frown developed on his face.

"This is really boring…" He grumbled to himself before closing his eyes again, trying to meditate again.

Han couldn't help but face palm. _'This is going to take a lot of work…'_

* * *

Han and Naruto spent the rest of the day working on Naruto's meditation. While the blonde had difficulties concentrating in the beginning, the two had made notable improvements. They quit for the day when Yen informed them that dinner was ready, telling each other they'd continue the next day.

Dinner was peaceful, especially in contrast to the night before the Akatsuki attack. Almost everyone chatted pleasantly amongst each other. Even Han spoke every few minutes, throwing out a few words or his opinions. Only Risho, who still refused to associate with the Konoha shinobi, was silent.

Near the end of dinner, Han decided to prepare tea. The man went away for a few minutes before coming back carrying a teapot and cups for everyone.

"…how you can carry all of that and not drop anything Han-Sensei?" Roto asked. "Do you need any help?

"No thanks. And I don't know…practice? It's not that difficult." The jōnin shrugged before he set the pot down. He then gave a cup to everyone and poured them tea.

'…_first Sensei eats with us, then he actually talks and associates with us, and now he's made us tea! I don't know how it happened, but you've changed Han-Sensei…'_ Kurotsuchi noted mentally with a smile. Her teammates were thinking along the same lines.

They, along with the Konoha shinobi and Yen, then took a look at the cup of tea. There was a little steam coming out of it and the cup itself felt hot.

'…_oh God…'_ Anko now remembered the tea Han was drinking when she first met him away from camp.

"I didn't have enough time to make it as hot as I prefer it, but I presume it should suffice." Han informed everyone as he took a large drink of his tea.

'…_well I guess it isn't like that other cup. How hot can it really be?'_ Anko wondered as she took a sip. At the same time, everyone else took a small sip from their own tea.

…

"**AHHH!"**

Han immediately stopped drinking and looked around him.

Shikamaru, Hinata, and Yen were on the floor nearly unconscious with bright red faces. Naruto, Roto, and Risho were all running to get water canteens, shouting variations of "WATER!" Anko was already chugging her own canteen of water, trying to cool herself and her tongue.

"C-Come on everybody! I-It's not th-that hot…" Kurotsuchi stuttered, trying to keep herself calm. Her efforts were not working, however, as visible tears were falling down her face.

Han looked at the chaos around him caused by his tea. He then took a look at his tea before he took another sip.

"Hmm…a little cold." Han mumbled in disappointment. "It seems humans have weak tongues."

The jōnin then noticed Naruto was back. He had already chugged his water canteen and was now begging anyone for their water canteen. Han sweat dropped in response.

"…I stand corrected. It seems jinchūriki can have weak tongues as well." Han noted with a frown before he turned his attention back to his tea.

* * *

Dinner ended shortly after the incident with the tea. Everyone went off to do their own things. Naruto, Hinata, and Roto went together to go look for more firewood. Anko and Han went to go scope the surrounding environment for any threats to camp. Risho and Yen chatted together by the fire.

Shikamaru found a spot near the bridge that gave a good view of the sunset in the sky. He laid down on his back and started to watch. A few minutes into it, however, he was joined by another person.

"Room for one more?" Kurotsuchi asked with a grin as she laid down next to him.

"Ugh, troublesome." Shikamaru grumbled. "You can watch yes."

"You seem upset about that. Don't want me here?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"It's not that. You're actually a pretty cool girl, especially compared to some that I know back home. But, I just want to relax right now-"

"All you ever do is relax, lazy ass!" She snapped, interrupting him.

"-and all you do is ask me questions about Konoha that you can ask anyone else." He replied, ignoring her interruption.

The Iwa kunoichi shrugged in response. "What can I say? I'm just curious about Konoha, considering every story you tell me is different from what I've heard about you guys."

"No, really?" The Nara asked sarcastically. "Considering our villages don't have the best relationship, that isn't surprising."

"I know that! So I like hearing what you guys have to say about your village. Especially you, because you don't sugarcoat your village and just say how you see it. I can actually believe what you have to say about it. You're blunt and I like that. And it actually sounds a lot like Iwa…just with fewer mountains and more trees." Kurotsuchi stated.

"Hmm..." Shikamaru accepted her response, now understanding why she always came for questions. A question of his own then entered his mind. "What are the clouds like in Iwa? Considering the mountains, you guys are probably a lot closer to them."

"Clouds?" She asked. "Yeah, they are a lot closer to us then they are here or probably in Konoha. It's kind of cool actually!"

"Hmm?" Shikamaru gave her a look.

"Well, if you go up high enough, it feels like you actually are in the clouds. There's one peak near the edge of the village that actually goes up past the clouds even!" Kurotsuchi noted. "It's actually really cool. Sometimes, if I go there, I feel like I'm flying!"

The Iwa kunoichi then released what she had said and immediately blushed before she turned away. "N-Not that I actually think about flying or anything. No, of course not! Because I know that's impossible!"

"Of course you don't." Shikamaru said with a smirk.

Kurotsuchi scowled and lightly punched the Nara heir in the arm. He grumbled before looking back up at the sunset. The girl's eyes followed suit.

"…so you do this all the time? Really? Just watch sunsets and clouds?" She asked.

"And stargaze at nights." Shikamaru added.

The two shinobi said nothing as they continued to stare at the sunset. This was the first time Kurotsuchi ever truly studied a sunset. She noted in particular how beautiful it was. It then dawned her that the sunsets in Iwa might be even better.

"…you know, this is pretty relaxing." She said.

"Heh, you're telling me." Shikamaru replied, his smirk on his face.

The two continued to stare into the sunset, no words exchanged between them. They both enjoyed the silence and each other's company. Both of them would never admit this, especially Shikamaru, but the two were actually starting to see each other as good friends.

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, and Roto were almost done with their search for firewood. The three shinobi had each collected quite a few pieces of wood. Only a few more pieces and they would be done. They were getting deep within the forest when Roto spotted something in the corner of his eye: a white flower with red dots on its petals.

"Ooh! Now this is something you don't see every day!" He noted as he examined the flower, putting his firewood to the side for a second.

Naruto and Hinata stopped their search and stared at the genin from Iwa.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't we still be finishing up with the firewood?" Naruto asked. He then looked at the flower curiously. "What's so special about that one?"

"It's poisonous! Very poisonous!" He stated excitedly as he took the flower. The boy then put it away in a pocket in his shorts. "Oh yeah, I can definitely make a poison out of it!"

"O-Or medicine." Hinata offered.

"Hmm?" Roto looked over at her strangely.

"W-Well, I mean if y-you neutralize the poison, that flower has a f-few qualities that are useful in medical creams." She explained.

"Hmm…" Roto took out the flower and examined it closer. "…yeah, you're right! I guess it could. Interesting!"

"Shouldn't you be more careful with the flower if it's that poisonous?" Naruto asked.

Roto scoffed in response. "Trust me, after you've dealt with as many poisons as me, you've pretty much picked up immunities to them all. And if I don't have an immunity to it, then I'm pretty sure I have an antidote somewhere!" He then turned to Hinata and smiled. "Didn't know you liked flowers that much. Most people don't see the practical value behind them."

"Oh I love them! I actually love to press flowers and I use some of them for medicine!" She said excitedly.

"You're not like a lot of girls I know…" Roto said as he stared at the girl for a second. A blush soon came on his face. "…not like them at all…"

Hinata failed to notice the blush on his face, but Naruto caught it. He also caught how much the boy had been staring at Hinata. He had occasionally stared at her throughout dinner. The blonde scowled. He didn't know why, but something about all the attention Roto was giving Hinata bothered him.

"We can look at the flowers once we are done. Let's get this firewood stuff over with first." Naruto stated.

Hinata nodded in agreement with her crush. Roto only sighed as he agreed, picking up his firewood.

The search continued only for a few more minutes before the three shinobi returned with plenty of firewood.

About an hour later, everyone ended up going to bed. Anko and Han rotated with the watch duty during the night. Day one was officially over.

* * *

The remaining two days went by similarly and quickly. By the third day, everyone was back to nearly one hundred percent. It was then time for both teams to leave.

"Alright: take two. Let's hope this time nothing happens when we separate!" Anko joked.

"Indeed." Han noted.

Yen walked forward and gave the Konoha shinobi a large smile before he started to speak.

"Anko-Sama, Naruto-Sama, Hinata-Sama, Shikamaru-Sama: thank you all. You've gone beyond what I paid for you! You are all extraordinary people and shinobi! I was truly blessed to have been given you as my escort!" The merchant thanked. "If any of you are ever in Tsuchi no Kuni, mention my name! Come by my shop and take whatever you want for free! My door will always be open for you all!"

"I think we'll remember that. I will at least!" Anko laughed. "It's been a pleasure Yen. Have a safe trip back and we'll meet again one day!"

"Yes we shall! Farewell!" He told them.

"Before we separate though: may I speak with Naruto-San in private?" Han asked.

Everyone looked at the Iwa jōnin strangely. They were in the process of leaving and now Han decides to have a private conversation? After a second, Anko shrugged. "Sure. Go right ahead."

Han walked off into the forest and Naruto hurried behind.

"You know, you all really like talking to me in private." Naruto noted teasingly. "What's up Han?"

"Well, I wanted to congratulate you on your success with meditation. You are making good progress." Han told him.

"Hmm? Oh, thanks." Naruto mumbled, a frown on his face. "But I still got a long way to go. I can't concentrate enough to draw out the power of the Kyūbi yet."

"But you are making progress. You've done a lot to increase your focus. I'm wondering how your next fight will go: your mind will be much stronger and your focus in battle with be stronger as well." Han noted. "I have a feeling you'll do well and get control of the Kyūbi soon!"

Naruto's frown turned into a grin. "Heh, thanks Han! Thanks for working with me! I'm sure I must have been a hard student."

"You have no idea." The man deadpanned before he pulled out a scroll from a pocket in his gi. "Anyway, as a gift for your progress, here's a scroll for a jutsu. I've had it for some time and it's pretty basic. It shouldn't take too long to learn."

The Iwa jōnin tossed Naruto the scroll. The boy caught it and immediately read the title of it.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu?" Naruto read. "But I'm a wind type. Can I even learn it?"

"A ninja's type only affects what kind of jutsus are their specialty. Your wind jutsus will be more powerful and require less chakra, but that doesn't mean you can't learn other types of jutsus. It would actually be wise to learn others. It'll give you some variety in attacks." Han advised. "That jutsu is a D-Rank, so it shouldn't be difficult to learn. And I think it could add some tactics to your fighting style, especially with all of the clones you use."

"Hmm…alright! That's fine with me!" Naruto cheered. "Heh, next time you see me, I'll have this jutsu down!"

The boy then thought about the man in front of him. Han was a jinchūriki just like him and understood him in ways no one else could. The man had spent days working on his meditation in hopes of getting the boy able to control the Kyūbi. He had now given Naruto a jutsu to learn. Naruto had gotten to know the man well and had gotten kind of attached to him. And now he was leaving…

Naruto immediately rushed at the Iwa jōnin and gave him a hug. Han, in shock, returned the hug hesitantly.

"Thanks…thanks a lot Han-Nii." He told the man.

"Uh, no problem. Naruto-San, don't call me that. I hate honorifics." Han requested.

"Well too bad! I'm calling you it!" Naruto replied stubbornly, tightening the hug.

A couple of seconds passed before the two ended their hug and headed back to their respective teams. The Konoha shinobi and Iwa shinobi then headed on their separate ways.

'_Han-Nii…well, whatever. I'm excited to see what kind of shinobi you'll be when I see you next, Naruto-Otouto.'_ Han thought to himself with a smile.

* * *

The journey back home to Konoha was peaceful and uneventful. Under normal circumstances, Anko would have complained about it. Considering the events that happened at Tenchi Bridge, she wasn't going to complain about peace for some time. For now, she was going to simply enjoy it.

Team Three got home faster than the trip to the bridge, considering they didn't have to slow down to Yen's speed. The four shinobi were excited to see the gates of Konoha.

"We're back! Finally!" Naruto shouted.

"It's good to be back home." Hinata agreed with a smile.

"Come on guys: Ichiraku has ramen for us! It's been far too long!" The blonde shinobi stated excitedly as he started to run off in the direction of his favorite place to eat.

As he was about to get out of sight, Anko raised her right hand. Snakes shot out of her hand and grabbed Naruto by his shoulders. The snakes then dragged Naruto back to his team.

"Whoa there Whiskers!" Anko stated with a laugh. "Trust me: I want nothing more than to get some dango right now. But first thing's first: after a mission, we have to go inform the Hokage about it. And trust me, we have a lot time to tell him."

Naruto frowned at his sensei's words before he started walking towards the academy and the Hokage's office, grumbling about ramen. Shikamaru chuckled and Hinata giggled at their friend's antics as they, along with their sensei, followed behind.

The four members of Team Three made it to the Hokage's office as quickly as they could. They walked in as another genin team left the office, most likely going on their own mission.

The Hokage noticed the team and had a smile on his face.

"Ah, welcome back Anko-San, Naruto, Shikamaru, Hinata." Hiruzen greeted the team. "How was the mission?"

"Well, the mission was a success. We'll start with that." Anko stated as she gave her leader the scroll she got from Han before the Akatsuki attack.

Hiruzen accepted it and filed it away.

"Then you'll have the money of the mission transferred to your account Anko. Pay your students accordingly when you get the money. Congratulations on your first C-Rank Mission!" He told everyone with a smile. After those words, his face got serious as he turned to Anko. "Based on what you said, though, you have more to say don't you?"

Anko laughed humorlessly. "Oh, you have no idea."

* * *

"Hmm…" Ōnoki, the Sandaime Tsuchikage, mumbled as he read the mission report.

Weeks ago, he sent the team in front of him on a simple escort mission featuring a brief encounter with Konoha shinobi. It seemed a simple mission on paper. The aged Tsuchikage was legitimately surprised when he read the report and saw it was otherwise.

'_Attacked by missing ninja? Assisted by Konoha shinobi in the combat?'_ Ōnoki repeated the odd parts of the report.

He looked up from his paper and faced the team that went on this strange mission.

"Kurotsuchi, Risho, Roto: you three are dismissed. Han, I would like you to stay." He informed the team.

"Yes Tsuchikage-Sama!" Risho and Roto replied in unison.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. See you at dinner tonight Gramps!" Kurotsuchi replied.

"Show some respect for the Tsuchikage!" Risho exclaimed at his teammate's words while they walked out.

"He's my grandfather! I give him the respect he deserves, but I'm also going to call him what I want to call him!" The Iwa kunoichi retorted.

The two genin continued to argue loudly even after they left the room. Roto tried to calm his teammates down, but his efforts ended up failing.

Ōnoki sighed in response to genin while Han chuckled slightly.

"She's much more mature on missions and in battle. You have a strange effect on her." Han noted to his leader.

"Tell me about it!" Ōnoki sighed.

"Anyway, I presume you want to discuss the mission in more detail?" The Gobi jinchūriki asked.

The Tsuchikage nodded. "Yes. You were all vague with the report. Who exactly were these missning ninjas?"

"That's something I wanted to discuss with you actually if you've heard of them." Han informed him. "Their names were Kakuzu and Nasumareta."

"...I recognize them. Kakuzu is an S-Ranked missing ninja from Taki while Nasumareta is high A-Ranked from Kumo." The Sandaime noted with a frown. He didn't like the idea of two powerful shinobi like them attacking his shinobi.

"I believe they belonged to some organization called Akatsuki." Han added more information.

"Akatsuki?" Ōnoki's eyes widened in surprise. "I recognize that name. They're a mercenary group that I hired for some jobs here in there." The old man rubbed his head, the news seemingly frustrating him. "So those two missing ninjas are part of Akatsuki, huh? Why would they attack you? Why would they attack any Iwa shinobi?"

"They were after the Gobi." The Iwa jōnin answered simply.

Ōnoki's eyes widened further for a second before they narrowed in anger. He slammed his fist onto his desk, nearly breaking it. "Damn them! For their sake, they better not step foot in Iwa again asking for another job! I will personally murder them all!" He then took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down before speaking again. "…so you're telling me you were able to fight them off? And Konoha shinobi actually helped with this?"

"Correct. I'd go as far to say that without the Konoha shinobi, I'd have been captured." Han answered.

"…I see." Ōnoki frowned at the news, uncertain how he should respond. "…why do you think Konoha assisted? They shouldn't have helped. Based on the details of the mission, they already completed their part. They had no reason to assist and our villages in particular don't get along."

"They helped because they that saw we needed help." The Gobi jinchūriki replied. "And based off some conversation I had with the jōnin sensei, Mitarashi Anko, I believe Konoha wishes to mend the relationship between our villages."

Ōnoki's eyes narrowed again in suspicion. "Are you certain of this?"

"Yes. And to be honest, I feel like we might benefit from that." Han gave his opinion. Ōnoki's eyes widened again, especially once Han continued to speak. "The war has been over for over a decade. It's time we try and move past it for the sake of both of our villages. We are lacking in allies. Making an ally out of Konoha might be for the best. Besides, I owe them my life. I'd rather have no other village have my back."

"…your opinion is noted Han. You may leave." Ōnoki ordered.

Han nodded as he left the office, leaving Ōnoki alone to his thoughts. The aged Tsuchikage had heard a lot about Konoha: every bit of it contradicted what he knew from experience. He wanted to ignore Konoha's aid, but he couldn't. It also didn't help that Han, a shinobi that openly hates humanity, was speaking favorably of these Konoha shinobi and was requesting a better relationship with the other village. None of this made any sense to Tsuchikage!

Ōnoki needed a lot of time to think a lot about everything he heard.

The Gobi jinchūriki continued to walk out of the office and out of the mansion. As he stepped out and into the village of Iwa, he was stopped by an old man.

The man had red hair in a ponytail at the very top of his head. He also had a red moustache and a red beard. He wore a light red shirt and pants with a black mesh-armor underneath. He had a brown sash on his wait with a pouch attached to it. The man also wore an Iwagakure forehead protector over his head in the shape of a crown.

"Good afternoon Han! You were in there for a while. What questions did that stubborn mule for a Tsuchikage ask you?" The man joked.

"Good afternoon Rōshi. He asked me questions about my most recent mission, particularly how Konoha was involved with it." Han replied.

"Typical. Very typical." The man, Rōshi, said with a sigh. "Well, did anything interesting happen? Well, anything I would find interesting?"

Han nodded and actually smiled at the older man. "Yes. A few things you would. Especially considering I met another one of us."

Rōshi gave the man a surprised look before a smirk appeared on his face. "Oh? Another jinchūriki? Well I guess I am interested! Come on. Let's go get some tea: my treat. You're going to have to inform me everything about this."

Han nodded in agreement and the two men walked off together to a nearby tea shop, ready to engage in discussion of the most recent events in Han's life.

* * *

Eight silhouettes appeared on large stones surrounding a statue in the center. Seven of the silhouettes were staring at the ninth stone, noting that someone was not here.

"And look, Kakuzu returns alone." One of the figures stated with a laugh. His silhouette had a visible ponytail. "Kill off Nasumareta didn't ya?"

The former Taki shinobi glared in response. "He's dead yes, and if you keep pissing me off, you'll be next Deidara." Before the figure identified as Deidara could respond, Kakuzu turned his attention to the leader. "Nasumareta was killed in combat. The mission was not as any of us anticipated."

The leader's eyes narrowed on him. "Explain."

"The Konoha shinobi interfered in the mission: something none of us failed to take into consideration. One of those Konoha shinobi also ended up being Konoha's jinchūriki, the Kyūbi container. Nasumareta was killed by the Kyūbi jinchūriki. I was forced to retreat, as going against two jinchūriki and six other shinobi alone was suicide." Kakuzu explained.

The leader nodded in understanding at Kakuzu's words before he closed his eyes and thought to himself about the situation.

"Kyūbi huh? Isn't that our target Itachi-San?" Another figure spoke. The one speaking looked similar to a shark-human hybrid. "Heh, if he was able to kill Nasumareta, maybe he'll be a fun hunt!"

"You're hunt will have to wait Kisame." The leader spoke up as he opened his eyes and ended his thinking. "All missions involving testing or capturing the jinchūriki will be put on hold for now."

"Let me guess: with this mission against the Gobi a failure, both Konoha and Iwa will bring back news about the attack. This, in turn, will alert the other villages, putting them on guard against any threats to their jinchūriki." Another figure stated. He was a large figure with a gruff voice that looked almost metallic, even as a silhouette.

"That is correct Sasori. We are going to have to be careful for the next few months or so. I will inform you of all of your individual tasks." He stated before turning to face Kakuzu. "We have a new partner for you. Make sure you don't waste this one. And be careful Kakuzu. You in particular have probably generated a lot of suspicion. It should be expected that you'll be a target to the shinobi villages as a threat to their jinchūriki."

Kakuzu, if he was a weaker man, would have glared in response at his leader's words for reminding him of his failure and for the subtle insult about his failure. The man, however, was not a weaker man and knew he couldn't respond that way to his leader.

"Understood." He simply said.

"This meeting is dismissed. Await my orders." The leader informed everyone.

The silhouettes disappeared without a trace.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Chapter eleven is done! Faster than expected too :)

And this concludes the Tenchi Bridge/Han Arc. Hope you all enjoyed my first original arc! Trust me: it won't be the only one. :P

Please let me know what you like and don't like in chapters! And feel free to offer suggestions! Dragon Man 180 actually inspired a good portion of this chapter with suggesting that the mission should be delayed. So thank you to him :) So yeah, feel free to suggest some things. I make no promises that I'll follow everything you all suggest, but hey, I may like some of the things you guys offer and I could integrate them to match the story. And you'll get credit if you do inspire me :)

So yeah..not much to say. I'm going to start work on the next chapter now! The next arc will be starting soon...very soon :D Until then :)


	12. The Need to Get Stronger

**Disclaimer: I own...well, what do I own? You all tell me! As a college student, what exactly do I own? Surely I don't own Naruto, but I must have something right?**

**Author's Note:** Okay, my updating schedule is better now thankfully! I got the chapter out much quicker than I thought I would (less than a week! Geez!). Although I will say not to expect an update till at least next week's weekend. My finals are coming up, so I'll be focusing on them the second I submit this chapter!...or I should say, trying to focus on them. Ayup...this'll go swell...

Anyway, you guys didn't come here to listen to my rant on exams! You came for a chapter! And a chapter is what you will get. Enjoy :)

* * *

"_Storm Style: Lighting Rain!__"_

"_Shit! Everybody get out of here now!" Anko ordered her students._

_Anko's words came too late. Blue lightning rained down from the sky and struck the four Konoha shinobi. All four members of Team Three screamed in pain before falling to the ground, blue static surrounding their bodies._

_The four shinobi tried to get up, but found that they couldn't. The lightning had paralyzed their bodies._

"_W-What? What the fuck?" Anko questioned as she struggled to get up._

"_Give up. It's useless." Nasumareta replied nonchalantly as he approached the Konoha shinobi. "That technique of mine paralyzes anything it hits. Granted it's only for a short time, but you all will be dead before it fades."_

"_No…no! Body, move dammit!" Anko ordered herself. _

_Nasumareta walked over slowly to Hinata and picked her up by her jacket. The girl started to cry. He wasted no time in stabbing the girl through the throat. The tears that had run down her eyes mixed with the blood dripping from her throat. He then tossed the corpse of the Hyūga heiress over to the side before walking up to Shikamaru._

"_HINATA!" Anko screamed as she tried to get up again. "Y-You…stay away from my students!"_

_Shikamaru continued to struggle against his paralysis, but his efforts failed. Nasumareta grabbed him and impaled his lighting rod straight through the Nara's head. _

"_SHIKAMARU!" The tokubetsu jōnin screamed again._

_Nasumareta then walked over slowly to Naruto. The blonde tried similarly to Shikamaru to get up, but he too failed and was grabbed by the former Kumo ninja. The boy was then stabbed straight through the heart before being tossed to the side._

"_NO! NARUTO! NO!" Anko cried out._

_Nasumareta walked slowly to Anko. The tokubetsu jōnin kept trying to get up, but her efforts were not working._

"_G-God. DAMN YOU!" She hissed to the approaching figure. _

_The former Kumo shinobi grabbed the woman by her throat. His face then immediately changed. Instead of Nasumareta, Anko was now looking into the eyes of her former sensei, Orochimaru. _

"_I must say, Anko-Chan, I'm impressed. Even I wasn't able to kill off all my students. You really are a sensei beyond comparison!" Orochimaru taunted her student as he licked his lips with his snake-like tongue. _

_Anko didn't have time to react. Orochimaru had already stabbed her in the chest with the lightning rod. Her vision started to fade._

* * *

"**AHH!"** Anko let out a blood curling scream before she got up, her eyes completely wide.

The tokubetsu jōnin looked around at her surroundings frantically. Instead of the battlefield by the Tenchi Bridge, she was in her bed in her apartment in Konoha. There was no battlefield, no missing ninja, and no corpses of her students. She sighed in relief.

"Okay…everything's okay. They're okay. They're alive." She told herself, breathing hard. "…dammit! That nightmare gets worse each night!"

Ever since the battle against Kakuzu and Nasumareta, Anko had been having nightmares. They all involved her students dying at the hands of Nasumareta and always end just as the man is killing her. The nightmares got worse with each subsequent one. This one in particular surpassed the others when the image of her former sensei, Orochimaru, appeared in her dreams in place of Nasumareta.

Anko immediately got out of bed, grabbed a glass bottle of sake from her kitchen, and walked out into Konoha. It was early morning: the sun was just starting to rise. The tokubetsu jōnin walked while drinking her sake, trying to clear her mind. She was currently mulling over the reason she believed she was having the nightmares.

'_We should have died. We got so lucky that it isn't even funny!'_ Anko thought bitterly. _'If Naruto didn't release the Kyūbi at that moment…if Nasumareta hadn't wasted so much chakra in the fight…if Han didn't stop the Kyūbi from taking complete control over Naruto…if any of that didn't happen, we'd all be dead!'_

The snake summoner started to chug on her bottle. After finishing it off, she crushed it in her hands. Glass punctured her hand, but she was too deep in thought to care. _'I couldn't do a damn thing! I got paralyzed and that was it for me! I couldn't help them…I couldn't save my students. It's my job to protect them and I failed…heh. Some sensei you turned out to be Anko!'_

Anko's walking soon turned into running. She was now heading in the direction of training ground forty-four.

'_I fucked up badly. Now it's time to fix that! I have to make sure I can get stronger so something like that can never happen again! I have to get stronger to protect them, and I have to get them stronger to protect themselves!'_ Anko thought. All of the rage over her nightmares and the incident were converted to determination.

Her speed increased as she continued to head to the training ground, ready for a workout of her own before she met up with her students.

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru could tell there was something wrong with their sensei. She was acting funny when they met up for their daily training sessions. On a usual day when they arrived early, the members of Team Three would sit and chat before starting the warm up. Today, Anko immediately had them start their warm up.

Anko, herself, didn't look to be in good shape. The woman had bags under her eyes and bruises on nearly every part of her body. Her right hand was bleeding as well. The woman seemed to not notice her condition, or she didn't care about it. She was more focused on the warm up.

The warm up, in itself, was also odd. Anko had doubled the work she traditionally assigned. It could be compared to the work Gai assigned to his team. This caused her students a lot of pain.

The three genin were in the middle of push-ups when Hinata fell to the ground in exhaustion. She didn't have time to rest, however, as Anko had tossed a kunai right in front of her.

"We aren't over yet. Keep up the work!" She ordered.

"Eep!" Hinata gasped as she continued her work, breathing hard and being very slow with it.

"Give her a break Anko-Sensei!" Naruto said while doing his push-ups. "After all the running, the sit-ups, and all the other crap you've had us do, we are exhausted!"

"The enemy doesn't care if you're exhausted. Hell, they'll be excited. Makes you an easier kill!" Anko retorted, giving her blonde student a glare. "Now stop yapping and focus on the work!"

Naruto had nothing else to say. He just continued silently with the warm up.

After another good ten minutes, Anko had stopped the warm up. Her three students immediately fell to the ground in pure exhaustion.

"Alright, now we'll work on something else. I'm going to work on your reflexes!" She said.

Immediately as she said that, kunai came flying at her students. Hinata and Shikamaru were able to dodge in time, but Naruto was hit by one in the leg. He winced in pain.

"Ah! What the hell?" He cursed.

"You should've all dodged those easily." She stated sharply.

"We're exhausted!" Naruto retorted back.

"And like I said, enemy shinobi don't care! Now, back to work. Dodge properly and that should be the only injury you get!" She replied before tossing shuriken.

Her students then immediately got up and started to hurry out of the way of the attacks of their sensei.

* * *

By the end of the session, Anko knew her students needed a break. Hinata and Shikamaru were close to passing out from exhaustion and Naruto was starting to take too many injuries.

"Alright, take an hour to cool down." Anko ordered her students.

They didn't have to be told twice! Shikamaru promptly took a nap right on the spot. Naruto and Hinata then sat down and tried to ease their tired muscles.

'…_maybe I'm being too hard on them.' _Anko noted to herself. _'…I'll work on something I think they all will enjoy for the individual stuff. And I'll try to take it a little easier tomorrow. But I'm not going to soften up too much! I need them tough!'_

* * *

An hour passed by quickly. The three genin stood up and got ready for more training. All three were still incredibly sore, but were feeling better than they had earlier.

Anko immediately made two shadow clones. "Okay, I'll be working with Shikamaru. Naruto and Hinata: you both have my clones. Now, let's get to work!"

The two shadow clones immediately went off with their respective students, heading in their own direction. Shikamaru was left alone with his sensei.

'_Okay, she only calls us by our names and not those troublesome nicknames when she's being serious. Something's up with her.' _Shikamaru thought to himself out of concern for his sensei.

"Okay Lazy Ass, it's about time we finally worked on something I can legitimately teach you. I worked on your reflexes, your strength, and your mind each time, but now let's work on something to give you some variety!" Anko told him as a smirk appeared on her face.

'…_and now she's back to the nicknames and smirking like a little kid. Anko-Sensei, you are too troublesome to figure out.' _Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"So what exactly will we be working on?" Shikamaru asked.

His sensei nodded in response. "It's about time we started working on your jutsu other than your shadows. This'll also give you some offensive attacks other than just spamming your explosive-tagged kunai! Now, watch my hands!"

Anko then ran through a few hand signs before she shouted "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu." Multiple fireballs were released from her mouth. The fireballs made direct contact with nearby trees, lighting them on fire. Anko smirked before she used a water style jutsu to put out the flames.

"You see that? It's pretty easy to learn as far as fire jutsu go and also packs quite a punch! I also know quite a few who use the fire to cover shuriken. You can come up with a few different tactics for it!"

"Hmm…" Shikamaru actually grinned at seeing it in action. "…I could work with it!"

"You better! Anyway, were you watching the hand signs? Try and do it!" Anko ordered.

The Nara nodded and made the same hand signs he saw his sensei make. He then took in a deep breath and attempted to breath out fireballs. Instead, however, he only caused his mouth to get very hot and smoke to come out. The Nara immediately started choking.

"Heh, you're only just starting with fire. Expect that to happen a lot when you just start!" Anko told him while laughing.

"…troublesome…" Shikamaru managed to eventually say between the coughing.

By the time the time coughing died down, the two immediately continued work on the jutsu.

* * *

One of Anko's clones led Hinata away from everyone, near a small clearing surrounded by wooden posts. When the two arrived there, the clone turned and faced the Hyūga.

"Alright Stutters-Chan, you've gotten good with the bow. You know more than I can possibly teach you, so you're going to have to improve on your own with it." She informed her student. Hinata nodded in understanding. "So we'll have to work on something else for today! Now quick question: you're still working with your clan on the Gentle Fist right?"

"Yes." Hinata affirmed. "Whenever I don't have missions that interfere, father still works with me on it."

The clone of Anko nodded in acceptance. "Good. Then I guess I'll leave taijutsu training to your family then. So, how about we work on some ninjutsu?"

The clone then pulled out a blue scroll and tossed it to her student. Hinata grabbed it and looked at its title.

"Water Style: Gunshot?" She read.

"C-Rank Water Style jutsu. Can be used at any range. You turn your chakra into water and then spit it out in the form of rapid-fire water bullets. The more chakra you have, the more bullets you can use and the larger they can become." She explained. "Fun fact: the Nidaime Hokage used this jutsu as a basis for developing his advanced water manipulation that allowed him to turn water vapor into a source for water. How he did that, I have no fucking clue. But hey, it's interesting trivia!"

"You know a lot about multiple types of jutsus Sensei." Hinata noted.

"Hmm? Of course!" Anko's clone scoffed in response. "Fire is my specialty, yeah, but I don't want to stay behind in the other elements. It's good to have a few different tricks up your sleeves in case you fight certain opponents. It also just makes you a balanced shinobi!"

Hinata nodded in understanding before she turned her attention to the scroll. She was already studying the basics of it and the required hand signs.

"Heads up: you will fail the first time you try. It may be C-Rank, but it's pretty complex. It's going to require you to concentrate a lot of chakra in your mouth and solidify it into water." She informed her student. "Keep practicing though. The important thing is that you get this jutsu down eventually, so don't stress if it's taking time!"

"Right!" Hinata agreed as she placed the scroll down and made the necessary hand signs. "Water Style: Gunshot!"

The Hyūga heiress concentrated her chakra into her mouth and attempted to create the jutsu. The end result caused the girl to go into a coughing fit, losing concentration on her jutsu.

"Yeah…that sounds like your average first attempt on that jutsu! Just like if you just starting working with fire jutsu!" Anko's clone joked as she watched her student continue her coughing.

She eventually went over to her, and patted her on the back, helping her out.

"Well because of that coughing fit, I can tell you got the chakra concentration part down relatively well. Now we just need to work on turning it into solid water that won't choke you!" The clone stated. "How about I demonstrate for you before you try again?"

Hinata nodded and the clone started to make hand signs, ready to demonstrate the jutsu. Hinata watched dutifully, hoping to recreate the jutsu quickly.

* * *

The second clone of Anko led Naruto to an empty part of the training ground that was barren: no trees, no training posts, nothing.

"Okay Whiskers, let's w-" The clone started.

"Wait, Sensei, can we work on this?" The blonde asked as he pulled out the scroll Han gave him.

Anko's clone gave the boy a curious look before she took the scroll and looked at it. Her eyes widened when she saw what the scroll was for.

"Headhunter? Where'd you get an earth style jutsu? They aren't overly common here in Konoha." She questioned.

"Han-Nii gave it to me and he thinks it'd give me some 'variety' in jutsu. I agree, so can we work on it?" He asked again.

'_Han-Nii?'_ The clone repeated the name in her head. _'Guess they were closer than I thought. Pretty surprising that Han gave him a jutsu though. The original me might find this really interesting…'_

"…eh whatever. I'm just a clone: I don't have to follow my original's orders when she isn't here." She shrugged, changing the plans for the blonde student. "Yeah, we can work on the jutsu!"

"Yeah! Awesome!" Naruto cheered, jumping up and down a little. "Okay, now let's get to work!"

"Whoa, settle down Whiskers!" Anko's clone mumbled. Naruto stopped jumping around and stared at her, waiting to hear what she had to say. "Now, have you looked at the jutsu at all yet?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not really. Only a little bit, but I kind of would have preferred to start practicing it with you in case if I screw up. I figured you could help me with any problems that I have with it!"

"Fair enough. Understand though that I don't know this jutsu and earth is probably my weakest element, so I don't know exactly how much help I'll be with this. But I'll do my best!" She said before tossing the scroll back to Naruto. "Now, just try it I guess!"

Naruto nodded before he looked over the scroll again. He studied it for a few minutes: the details behind by the jutsu and the hand signs. He then put the scroll away and made the necessary hand signs.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!" Naruto shouted.

The blonde, however, used too much chakra in his attempt. This caused Naruto to sink into the ground itself. He fell down to his shoulders, shouting the entire way.

"Ah! D-Damn it! What the hell?" Naruto cursed as he tried to get out of the clone.

Anko's clone, after witnessing the attempt, immediately fell to the ground in laughing fit. "Oh God! I didn't know it was possible, but you just got shorter!"

Her laughter only annoyed Naruto, who's struggling increased.

"Ugh! Hey, Sensei! Quit laughing and help me out of here!" He shouted.

"Can't do Whiskers!" She replied between laughs. "You wanted to learn this juts, so you should fix the problems you make with it."

Naruto grumbled to himself as he struggled to get out of the ground. He was going to have to practice this jutsu and he couldn't do it like this.

'…_why do I have a feeling this is going to be a really long day?' _He grumbled to himself, still trying to pull himself out.

* * *

All three genin were exhausted after their individual training. They had spent every second working on the jutsu assigned to them. Shikamaru and Hinata were both suffering from chakra exhaustion while Naruto experienced physical exhaustion from having to constantly pull himself out of holes. In addition, all there were still worn up from the earlier training from that day.

"You all look like shit!" Anko laughed.

Naruto and Shikamaru glared in response at their Sensei. Even Hinata gave her an annoyed look. This only caused the tokubetsu jōnin to laugh in response.

"Yup. And it seems like my lovely little brats are pissed! Now that right there is the reason I love being a sensei!" She stated before she stopped laughing and gave them all a serious look. "Yeah, I know I probably tired you all out a lot today more than usual and I admit I was a bitch today, but I need you guys to get tougher for the future. I want to make sure that if something like our last C-Rank happens again soon, you all will be able to have a fighting chance on your own without my help. So expect the next few sessions to be rough, but I think it'll be worth it in the end."

The three genin of Team Three stopped glaring at their sensei and gave her a shocked look. They all then nodded simultaneously.

"I'll be a little more lenient tomorrow, since I probably did go a little overboard, but the training will still be difficult. I am going to do my part to make sure you three can live a long fulfilling life as shinobi of Konoha!"

"We get it. No big deal Anko-Sensei! We're just going to get stronger after all, so no complaints from me!" Naruto stated excitedly.

"Good. Good to hear!" Anko stated with a smirk. "Anyway, I have some plans today, so no missions. You are all dismissed. Just take it easy for the rest of the day and relax. You all earned it! See you brats tomorrow!"

Anko made a hand sign before using the shunshin and disappearing, leaving her students alone.

"Show off! She just loves that shunshin!" Naruto grumbled.

"Naruto, this is Anko-Sensei. She loves flashy entrances and exits. Are you just now realizing this?" Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Shut up!"

Hinata giggled as she watched her friends argue.

"Well, if we got the day off, I'm probably going to go head to Ichiraku. Want to come?" Naruto said as he started to walk off.

Both Shikamaru and Hinata nodded. The three members of the team were then off, heading to go get lunch.

* * *

It didn't take Anko long to reach where she was heading: the memorial stone for ninja killed in combat. The stone was not too far away from the training ground, making it only a small walk to get there.

The tokubetsu jōnin grinned when she arrived there. Just as she was hoping, a man was there. He was a tall man with white, spiky hair. He wore the Konoha flak jacket and a pair of pants that had kunai holders on them. He also had on a mask over his face and his forehead protector covered his left eye.

"Kakashi! What's up?" She shouted at him.

The man, Kakashi, looked away from the memorial stone and faced Anko. He gave her a smile behind his mask before he walked over to her.

"Good evening Anko. It's been a while." He replied. "Need something? You usually don't come out here."

"You would know. You're out here every day!" Anko noted.

Kakashi shrugged. "True. I feel that I should be though. There are many people here who don't get as much respect as they should."

Anko nodded with a frown on her face. The mood of the conversation had taken a rapid turn from positive to negative. "Yeah…I understand. We both know quite a few people on there, don't we?"

"Yeah." The white-haired man replied before he gave another smile to the woman. "Anyway, you probably didn't come to talk about stuff like that. What did you want to ask me?"

The tokubetsu jōnin immediately perked back up. "Spar with me."

"Hmm?" Kakashi gave her a strange look.

"You heard me. I'm looking for a sparring partner and I want to know if you'd be willing to be my partner!" She explained.

"Odd. Why me? Aren't you closer to someone like Kurenai? Wouldn't you rather ask her?" He asked.

"Because you're good. Real good. And don't deny it!" Anko stated sharply as she noticed that Kakashi was going to interrupt her. "I spar a lot with Kurenai, yeah, but I need someone a little tougher. I need someone who will push me beyond my limits. I figured you probably would be the best person to come to."

"I see…" Kakashi noted, rubbing the back of his head in slight embarrassment at the praise from his colleague. "Well, I'll be free in about four or five hours if you want to spar today. Where do you want to meet up then?"

"Your training ground will be fine!" She replied, a large grin on her face. "Thanks a lot Kakashi!"

"No problem. We haven't sparred in a long time anyway, so maybe this'll be fun!" Kakashi told her with a smile behind his mask. "…anyway, I'm probably going to have to go soon. I'll see you then?"

"Where you heading?" She asked curiously. "What are you running late to now?"

"I'm supposed to meet up with my genin team." He replied simply. "Anyway, see you later Anko!"

Kakashi waved goodbye before he disappeared in a shunshin, leaving Anko alone.

"…a jōnin sensei showing up late to his genin's training sessions. Typical Kakashi." Anko scoffed. "Well whatever. Not my problem. Anyway, I ought to prepare myself. Our spar is probably going to hurt!"

Anko then hurried off to go prepare for her spar. She was excited that he had said yes and was ready to see if the spar could help her improve on her skills.

* * *

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto shouted loudly before he started scarfing down his ramen.

Hinata and Shikamaru were much quieter, and slower, as they ate their food. In thirty seconds, the two of them had only gotten through a small portion of their bowls while Naruto finished his off and was requesting another bowl.

"Ah! I missed this place! If there's anything I missed from being out of Konoha, it was ramen!" Naruto mentioned with a content smile while he waited for more ramen.

"Go figure." Shikamaru chuckled as he took a second away from his bowl to talk to his friend. "If I were to say what I missed most, it would be my bed. I forgot how much easier it is to sleep on a real bed."

"That would be what you miss, lazy ass!" Naruto stuck his tongue out at his friend.

Hinata giggled to herself as she continued to eat on her ramen. She loved moments like these where Naruto and Shikamaru argued amongst each other. They amused her a lot.

Shikamaru was about to respond to Naruto, but Teuchi came forward from the back and gave Naruto another bowl of miso ramen. The blonde immediately turned his attention solely to the bowl and started eating again.

"…have we done that comparison between you and Anko-Sensei on who is the faster eater yet? You and your ramen versus her and her dango?" Shikamaru asked.

"We haven't, but we should! I know I could take her down dattebayo!" Naruto said proudly between slurps.

"Speaking of Anko-Sensei, did you guys notice something off with her?" Hinata questioned her friends.

"Hmm?" Naruto stopped eating and faced the Hyūga heiress. "Well yeah, she even admitted it. She was being really tough on us to work on improving our training!"

"Yeah, but it goes beyond that." Shikamaru spoke up. "Her mood seemed to change over and over again: more often than usual. And she seemed stressed still."

"Still?" Naruto and Hinata said in near unison as they gave the Nara heir a strange look.

"You haven't noticed?" He questioned. "Well, ever since that fight with those missing ninja on the mission, Anko-Sensei has been acting different. Sure she would joke around and be her troublesome self, but she seemed always like there was something on her mind. It only got worse each day. Something was bothering her and stressing her out, and it still is. Today was the worst she's been!"

"…how did you notice all that?" Naruto asked.

"Attention to detail and paying attention to subtle changes in character. I might be wrong, but I don't think so." Shikamaru shrugged. "So, what do you think?"

Naruto and Hinata remained quiet for a few seconds before Hinata spoke up.

"She probably is." She said, a frown on her face. "Should we do something?"

"Like what? It's not like she told us any of this." The Nara grumbled.

"…ooh, I know what we can do!" Naruto spoke up.

The blonde immediately told his friends the idea. Hinata and Shikamaru both smiled after hearing what he had to say.

"Simple, but I like it. I'm sure she'd appreciate it!" Shikamaru said.

"She will! Hopefully it'll help her feel a little better." Hinata stated quietly.

"I have a feeling it will! If I know Anko-Sensei, it should!" Naruto said, a smirk on his face. "Anyway, we should go do it after we finish eating. We wouldn't want her to head over there before we can do it for her, would we?"

"Right, right." The Nara nodded in agreement.

"She said she had some plans today, so we might have a little bit of time." Hinata told them. A thoughtful look then appeared on her face. "I wonder what Anko-Sensei's plans were anyway?"

* * *

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Anko unleashed a giant fireball from her mouth. Kakashi retaliated with the same fireball. The two jutsu collided with each other and canceled each other out.

"Dammit Kakashi! I didn't realize sparring with you would be just you copying every jutsu I do!" Anko cursed at him, starting to breathe hard.

"I'm the Copy Ninja for a reason, you know?" He replied with a smile. His forehead protector was no longer covering his left eye. It was wide open, revealing the Sharingan.

'_He's screwing with me. I know he's doing that to me on purpose to piss me off, so that way my actions will get less focused. Well I'm not going to let him get the better of me that way!'_ Anko told herself before she ran forward to attack.

The two shinobi engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Kakashi was able to parry her strikes with his own. He managed to land a good few punches directly at the tokubetsu jōnin, but she showed no signs of giving up.

Realizing she was getting outmatched, Anko jumped backwards, made hand signs, and released another Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu at Kakashi. The fireball flew faster than the other one and managed to hit Kakashi, causing him to wince under the flames of the fire. Anko smirked before she saw him disappear in a poof of smoke.

Before she could react, a hand grabbed her from underground and pulled her down into the ground. She was dragged all the way down to her neck. Kakashi then appeared in front of her, giving his traditional smile behind his mask.

'…_this is the jutsu that Naruto wanted to work on today. Guess it's pretty effective.'_ Anko thought to herself.

"Well, I supposed that should cut it for today, right Anko?" Kakashi asked. "I'm assuming you don't need help getting out?

Her response was only disappearing in a poof of smoke as well. Kakashi's eyes widened in response.

"Shadow Clone?" He mumbled to himself before looking for Anko. _'I don't remember her even making one. That's pretty impressive to pull that off on me!'_

He didn't have time to look much. Snakes shot from behind a nearby tree and grabbed the man with their teeth. They bit down hard on him, causing him to wince in pain.

"Heh, now let's get this over with!" Anko stated as she appeared from behind the tree. She then pulled back on her hands in an effort to pull Kakashi forward.

Her efforts worked, as Kakashi was sent flying towards the tokubetsu jōnin. She then made more hand signs.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" She shouted before unleashing a burst of fire from her mouth, heading at the approaching Kakashi.

'_Ah, I see what she's doing. She used her snakes to immobilize me and pull me in close to her so she can use the Dragon Flame Jutsu, a jutsu that is more effective the closer you are to the target. Very effective!'_ Kakashi thought to himself before he started to make hand signs of his own. _'However, Anko, I am not immobilized like you think I am. __Water Style: Gunshot!__'_

Kakashi quickly launched a ball of water from his mouth that collided with the fire. The water quickly put out the approaching flames and continued flying at Anko. The tokubetsu jōnin was hit head on by the jutsu, causing her to fly backwards and her snakes to let go of Kakashi. She landed on the ground hard.

"D-Damn it!" She cursed before getting up and getting a position to keep fighting.

"Anko, that's probably enough for today." Kakashi told her as he moved his forehead protector to cover his Sharingan eye.

"We are not done! I can still fight! Now let's keep this up!" Anko demanded as she pulled out a kunai.

"Anko, please. Besides the fact you were already bruised before we fought, I can tell your chakra is running low right now and that you're even more tired. We sparred for a while. We should call it quits for the day!" The jōnin explained. "We don't want to get you too tired. You'd be useless if you were overworked and exhausted. Just relax!"

Anko said nothing in return. She looked down in thought.

'…_he's right. I have been overworking myself today. I can't let that happen, otherwise I might burn myself out. I'm going to have to take it a little easier…'_ She thought.

"However," Kakashi started, getting the attention of Anko, "we can continue sparring some other time. Would every other day be okay with you?"

Anko immediately grinned in response. "Hell yeah it would! Meet here same time?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yep. Now, I'll see you then. Why don't you go and relax."

"Right. Thanks Kakashi!" She thanked him, her grin seemingly larger. "I'll see you later then! Bye!"

Anko then walked off, too tired to make a shunshin.

'_She's better than I remember. I actually had to use my Sharingan and I got myself tired out a little bit. And if we keep sparring like that, we will both get better. These sparring sessions will be pretty useful!'_ Kakashi noted before he pulled out an orange book from a pocket in his pants. _'Anyway, back to where I was when I left off!'_

The jōnin giggled to himself with a blush on his face as he walked away from the training ground himself.

* * *

After sparring with Kakashi, Anko went out to go get dango. The sensei of Team Three ordered a large plate of her favorite food and a cup of tea. As soon as she got her desired meal, the woman immediately started to eat at a rate that would cause Naruto to gasp.

'_Every time I'm away on a mission, dango gets better by the time I come back!'_ She noted in her head as she continued to chew on her food in contentment.

Anko was alone in the restaurant other than the workers. She took her time eating and tried to keep her mind focused solely on the food. She made an effort to avoid thoughts on her nightmares or her role as a sensei.

She was able to relax.

By the time she finished her meal, she was smiling peacefully and playing with a few of the sticks that her dango were on.

'_Okay, I feel better now. Kakashi was right. I needed to rest a little bit. I need to stop stressing myself out so much!'_ She told herself.

A clerk came over and took the plates away from Anko. She then turned her attention to him.

"Hey, so how much was it today? I know I went a little overboard on how many I ordered." Anko asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

"You? Nothing." The clerk informed her.

"…huh?" She gave him a strange look. "Look, don't screw with me. How much do I owe?"

"As I said, nothing. Three young kids came in today and paid a good amount of money and put it under your name. And you didn't eat as much as they paid, so you don't owe us a thing!" He replied.

"…huh?" Anko's eyes widened.

"Yes. A Hyūga, a Nara and…a blonde-haired boy were the ones who paid for you." The clerk replied. "They seemed to really look up to you and wanted to do something for you. We warned them how much it would probably cost to cover one of your meals, but they didn't care.

Anko's eyes seemed to widen even further. Her students had paid for this meal? They had down something like that for her, especially after she was being (as she put it) a bitch to them?

"…okay then. Thanks a lot sir." Anko told the man before she walked out of the shop and headed back to her apartment.

Anyone who saw the tokubetsu jōnin that night would have seen a sight rarely seen. Anko was walking down the streets of Konoha with a smile on her face. Not a sadistic smirk or a mischievous grin: a plain, sincere smile.

'_I'll have to pay them back somehow. Those three…they're fine shinobi and great kids. And I'll do my part to keep them alive!'_ Anko thought to herself with pure determination in her eyes.

That night when Anko fell asleep, she was not greeted by the same nightmare that was tormenting her. The dream she had reminded her of a dream she used to get growing up where she (of all people!) became the Hokage. She couldn't remember much about this dream, but it was a peaceful one and she enjoyed it. There was one thing she truly remembered from it though: Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru were alive and were proud jōnin of Konoha. The snake summoner knew she was going to do everything in her power to make sure her dream did come true.

* * *

Time fell into a pattern for the members of Team Three. Days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months. They continued meeting up each morning for training, which was still more difficult than it was prior to the mission to Tenchi Bridge. Slowly, the three genin became used to the new training method and encouraged Anko to make it more difficult. Their slightly sadistic sensei was more than eager to add to the difficulty.

One notable change that occurred from before the C-Rank mission was in the attitude of Anko. The woman seemed more attached to her genin. She occasionally joined her students when they went out to lunch at Ichiraku. If someone ever stopped her and asked her about her team, she would shower them in praise and say nothing but good things about them. It was true: the infamously sadistic Mitarashi Anko was becoming a softie for her genin students.

…not that she would ever admit that to their faces. No, of course not!

As the members of Team Three improved from training, they improved in their mission taking skills. They took more missions now and went through them quickly. They had been able to complete twenty-two D-Rank missions and eight C-Rank missions: a record very impressive for rookie genin!

Things were becoming routine for the members of Team Three. No matter what any of them would say, the four members were secretly hoping for something to take them away from the same activities.

Their secret hopes were answered when a bird wearing the crest of Iwagakure flew into Konoha, carrying a scroll on its back.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen knew he was getting old, so he felt the need to read the scroll twice. He then read it over a third time to make complete sure, and then a fourth time to fully understand what was going on.

Iwagakure had just sent a notice to the Hokage that the village was sending two genin teams to participate in the Chūnin Exams that were being held in Konoha this year.

The Sandaime lit his pipe and looked out of the window in his office, staring at the Hokage Monument.

'_The Ch__ū__nin Exams are coming up. They'll be here in two weeks. And it'll be the first time Iwa has sent a team to a Konoha exam in over thirty years!'_ Hiruzen thought to himself, breathing out smoke from his pipe. _'…something tells me that this year's exam will be very interesting!'_

* * *

**Author's Note: **Chapter twelve is done! Yes! :) And now to begin the Chūnin Exam Arc! I have to admit, I originally did not want to do it. It's been kind of overdone in most fanfiction. Having said that, I do enjoy it and it's necessary for my future plans! And also, I will make sure my exams are...unique. They will be different from canon. You'll see (especially once I get past the first exam!).

So...I have over 250 reviews. I am 1/4th the way to 1000. Just...you are all amazing. Thank you so much for the continued positive support! I probably sound like a droning idiot who repeats this every chapter, but I mean it: you guys are all awesome and I love writing to you all! Really, thanks! :)

As state above, next chapter will be coming out a little bit later. Most likely by next weekend. I'll be working on it the second I can! Until then :)


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